Tony Stark: the teenage years
by Becky Iron Girl
Summary: What is life like for Tony Stark as a teenager? What will he do as Iron Man? And what will the future hold for him and Pepper? Jump into the world of Tony Stark as a teenager with Iron Man and JARVIS. This is my first fanfic and basically i just write out the scene i have in my head. Thanks to all who use their time to read this, i appreciate it very much.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Starting school and Old memories:  
>The moon was in the middle of the sky which showed Tony it was near midnight. The seventeen year old sat up, looking at the stars from the open rooftop. However, it wasn't always like this, with Tony being a genius, he re-built the rooftop so that he could open and close it at his command, by ordering his AI JARVIS. 'It's getting a bit chilly' Tony thought.<br>"JARVIS?" Tony asked to see if his AI was there although he knew he was always there.  
>"Yes, sir" A deep robotic voice echoed from the air with a british accent.<br>"Seal the roof. It's getting cold." Tony complained "As you wish, sir, would you like the heating turned on?" JARVIS also had a very caring side and he had a lot of common sense. For a moment, Tony considered it but then he realised it might become a little too hot for and Rhodey.  
>"No, just the roof" Tony replied.<br>"As you wish, sir." At this, a flat grey surface moved smoothly from one side to another covering the moon and the shining stars. Tommorow was going to be his first day at school, and he was dreading it more than anything.

A beeping sound came from the digital alarm clock, flashing 8:00am which meant it was time for Tony to wake up. Tony groaned as he brought his head off the pillow to press the button to make it stop. Unfortunately, this did not work and Tony's finger kept on smacking down on the button which would not obey his order. In the end, Tony grew tired of the clock and, out of anger,  
>picked it up and threw it at the wall leaving a crashing sound echoing all around the house. Tony lowered his eyebrows so that they were just above his eyes and his head flopped onto the soft, bouncy pillow. His peace was disturbed shortly after when he heard his best friend calling his name.<br>"TONY!" It was loud enough to wake the dead and Rhodey burst into the room which made Tony shoot up from his pillow and look back at Rhodes.  
>He was in his army camouflage pyjamas, his eyes wide with fear while Tony lay on the duvet with only his black boxers on.<br>"Rhodey? What has you all excited?" Tony said with a hint of anger in his hesitated for a moment looking around the room,  
>his eyes scanning everything.<br>"I...I was sure i heard a loud...Crashing sound...Are you alright?What happened?" Rhodey looked very panicked and Tony had a puzzled look on his face.  
>"What? Did you think someone smashed through the window and killed me eventhough the window is intact? Even though-"<br>Tony was interupted by his arc reactor which was shining brightly, lighting up the room.  
>"-Yup, i'm still alive." Tony smirked as Rhodey frowned.<br>"I still don't have my answer." Rhodey was tapping his foot down impatiently and he raised an eyebrow at Tony.  
>"Alright, Mom!" Tony used a sarcastic tone.<br>"The alarm clock wouldn't shut up so i kept on pushing the button on the top and it didn't work, so, i kind of...threw it at the wall..."  
>Tony said the last couple of words hesitantly, waiting for Rhodey's reaction, to his suprise, Rhodey chuckled.<br>He sat on his bed and put his head in his hands, finally, when he looked up, he was smiling at Tony, but it was an unusual smile.  
>"You make the alarm clock 'shut up' by pressing the red button on the side" Rhodey was smiling at Tony because he found it funny that the great Tony Stark, the genius, couldn't figure out how to turn off an alarm.<br>A moment of silence.  
>"I'm having JARVIS wake me up from now on" Tony and Rhodey laughed together.<p>

"Am I correct that this is your first day of school?" The headmaster had a very serious face and didn't look like a man to smile. His hair was black, turning grey at the roots, and was jelled back. He wore a brown suit with a black tie. 'Oh great-' Tony thought. '-He sure looks like fun'  
>"Yes, this is my first day" Tony replied "Am I to understand that you have parents at home?"<br>Tony's brown eyes looked down to the ground and he shut them tight, fighting back the tears. At last, he gave an answer.  
>"My father, Howard, he died and my mother-" Tony's voice started to wobble a bit. "-she's missing, assumed dead." The headmaster lowered his gaze and gave Tony a sympethatic smile to try and comfort him.<br>"I'm sorry...So, who is your guardian" The headmaster looked concerened.  
>" , she took me in as she worked for my father, you would know her, she is the mother of James Rhodes."<br>Straight away, typing on a keyboard could be heard and a few clicks of a mouse and the headmaster started to speak.  
>"Ah, right! , hmm, one of my students who needs to improve-" He was cut off by his own thoughts and he had a sudden idea.<br>"You're pretty smart, aren't you?" The headmaster asked as if he already knew the answer.  
>"I suppose" Tony shrugged.<br>"Jolly good!" 'Jolly good?' Tony repeated in his mind wanting to laugh.  
>"You are in James' class and you will tutor him for the rest of the year." Tony did not like being ordered about and he frowned at the headmaster. "Right." Tony nodded and tried to look like he cared.<br>"Do you have your timetable, -" When the last two words escaped his mouth, Tony widened his eyes and he remebered the story his mother told him of how his father had died.

Crying could be heard from all inside the house and it was coming from a baby sat on the ground.A woman with black hair and green eyes appeared and her arms reached out to cradle the baby. He continued to cry.  
>"Howard!" The woman shouted. No reply.<br>"Howard!" Again, no reply. So, she decided to set off down to where Howard was working. When she found him, he was using a welding tool on a piece of metal. He stopped and looked up with his black goggles on to protect him from the bright light.  
>"What, Maria?" He was very stern."I'm working" His assistant walked up beside him taking the welding tool away from his hand.<br>"The baby wants you, he never seems to settle with me, he's definetly a daddy's boy." Maria smiled sweetly at him and held out the baby.  
>With a roll of his eyes, Howard took the baby and inspected him and he had stopped crying by now. "Get used to your mother,Tony, I'm always too busy-" Howard was cut off by a male voice behind him. " ?" Howard ignored him. " !There's a fire!"<br>Howard's eyes widened in panic and Maria gasped with fright. "Maria, take Tony and get out" Howard ordered.  
>"Howard, no! No, i'm not leaving without you." Tears were streaming down her face and Howard gave her a push towards the stairs leading up to their bedroom.<br>"I'm going to put the fire out, you get out of here!" This time his tone was louder.  
>"GO!" He shouted at her while she sobbed and ran to the stairs carrying Tony.<p>

"Mr. Stark! There's a fire!" The words played over in Tony's mind.

Tony finally came back to reality and realised the headmaster still did not have his answer.  
>"Umm, no sir"<br>Again,a few clicks of the mouse and the typing of a headmaster was scrolling through a page of names and murmuring something to himself-'Tony Stark' His eyes were squinted looking through the list of names. His eyes darted from the computer to Tony and back again.  
>"What did you say your full name was?" The headmaster asked, looking very confused.<br>"Anthony Edward Stark" Tony said it with pride.  
>The headmaster suddenly realised that Tony was just a shorter version of Anthony and his eyes shot back to the computer, and he started murmuring again-'Anthony Edward Stark'<br>Tony smiled and rolled his eyes.

Birds were singing in the distance of blue skies and white fluffy clouds. Sitting on the roof of the school, he dangled his legs from the top.  
>Indeed, Tony Stark was a risk taker.<br>'Your mother...-' The past was being repeated in his mind like a nightmare as his eyes were shut tight.  
>"Missing...-" Tony felt a shiver run up and down his spine.<br>"Assumed...-" He could see her in his mind.  
>"Dead..." Tony realised he had been holding his breath and he breathed in the clean air ,his eyes shot open,and his hand was on his arc reactor.<br>He didn't realise there was someone else up there with him.  
>"Anthony Edward Stark-" Tony jumped out of his skin and spun around to see a girl, same age as him, maybe a year younger, with light ginger hair, glimmering ocean blue eyes and freckles dotted all over her pale face. She was sitting on a wall which was on the roof, the wall had a door which was an exit back to the school downstairs.<br>"Father was owner of Stark Industries-" She lowered her gaze in symathy "And you are due to take over at 18, you're a genius, never been to school in your life, always been home schooled by Howard and you like to invent. So far, no criminal records." She smiled at him once she was done while his jaw dropped and his eyes stayed on her at all times.  
>"Do you stalk me? Coz I know a lot of girls who like to-" He was stopped by the girl cutting in.<br>"As if! Anyway, my dad works for the FBI, i tend to hack into his files a lot."She shot him a cheeky wink that told him that she's a troublecauser, just looking for fun. She could tell he was confused so she held out her hand and motioned for him to take it...which he did.  
>"I'm Virginia Potts, but you can just call me Pepper." Tony returned the smile "Nice to meet you, Pepper, you can just call me Tony" They kept on shaking hands.<br>"Cool" Pepper grinned as the school bell rang signalling the end of the day.  
>"Well, I'll see you around!" She skipped off and waved at Tony.<br>"See you later." Tony grinned...she seemed like the type of girl he wanted in his life even though they had just met. In the end, he walked towards the exit doors to meet Rhodes. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:Iron Man and Pepper:  
>His hands fiddled with the welding tool his Dad had once owned and he frowned as he got up and started working on building the armory.<br>This had to be kept a secret...except...maybe Rhodey could know...

2 DAYS HAVE PASSED...

Tony gazed in pride at the tech he had set up all around him "Not half bad, Stark, not half bad" Tony complimented himself and now, it was time to get on with something that could change his life...dramatically.

*ACDC SHOOT TO THRILL*  
>Tony bobbed his head along to the ringtone and pretended to play an invisible guitar while walking over to pick up his phone.<br>"Oooh, that's an idea" Tony's eyes brightened.  
>"JARVIS"<br>"Yes, sir"  
>"Play 'ACDC' tracklist, starting with Thunderstruck"<br>"Always the loud music sir, very good" Tony smiled into the air as he heard Brian Johnson starting to sing along to the guitar. Reaching for his phone with one arm, he used the other to touch the projector floating in thin air, moving his fingers down which was lowering the music.  
>"Tony Stark speaking" Tony talked into the mic. of the phone.<br>"TONY?!" Rhodey shouted down the phone. "School starts in 20 minutes! How are you gonn-" Tony cut Rhodey off, he couldn't bear any more of his lectures or any more of his moaning.  
>"I've got it covered-" Tony was interrupted by a smile on his face "-I'll be there in 10" He pressed the red button and Rhodey's voice could be heard no longer. Tony took three big steps towards a large rectangular grey case with was made out of Iron. He pressed the middle button and the two doors started to open. "Better than the alarm clock system." Tony grinned to himself.<br>The doors were fully open and inside there was a man-like figure painted red and gold made out of an alloy of titanium although people could mistake it for Iron. Tony's mouth twisted into a grin as he pressed his hand down onto the glowing arc reactor in the middle of it's chest and the suit opened in half, ready for him to claim it. Carefully, Tony turned around and walked backwards into the suit and it closed up after him. JARVIS was checking everything was ready for flight in the suit and Tony could tell because of all the things which would flash in the middle and move off into the bottom corner. "JARVIS, you there?"  
>"I have indeed been uploaded, sir. At your service, as always."<br>"Is everything online? Are we good to go?" Tony sounded way too excited.  
>"Sir, there are still many improvements that can be done to improve the suit's altitude level and there are many planes flying-" JARVIS said no more as Tony cut him off with an inspirational quote.<br>"JARVIS, sometimes you gotta run before you can walk." JARVIS had nothing to say, so, Tony carried on "Ready? And 3, 2, 1..." At one the suit's thrusters activated with a WHOOSH and blue streaks of light illuminated from the suit's boots and hands. Tony shut one eye tight and hoped for the best as he burst out through the armory and into the open air. His grin went from ear to ear as he noticed how spectacular this was: He could fly.  
>"Full speed ahead to-" Tony let out a deep sigh "-School." If JARVIS had a face, Tony knew he would be smiling.<br>"Aaaah, your favourite place, sir" JARVIS replied with a sarcastic voice which left Tony groaning and murmuring a few curses under his breath. And on that note, the man in armour flew off into the distance heading straight for hell.

"Fuck..." Tony swore as he remembered that his suit was not portable and he had to hide it. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.  
>"JARVIS, find me a nearby large bin covered with junk so i can hide this thing." That probably sounded a bit too strange and it wasn't going to be a nice experience.<br>"Sir, there is one two blocks away from the school in a dark alleyway." JARVIS explained.  
>"Show time" Immediately, the time flashed in front of him showing 8:50, this made Tony smile, he still had time.<br>"Bring up coordinates" A map of the estate popped up in front of his eyes which they then quickly scanned.  
>"Let's get this over with" Tony set off dreading this day.<p>

As he clambered out of the suit, piles of stinky garbage poured all over him. "Oh, come on! I stink like baby diapers! I had a shower this morning and used new expensive shampoo!" Tony moaned and complained as he walked at a slow pace towards the school when he asked JARVIS the time through his earpiece, JARVIS replied with 8:54 and Tony let out a huff. Then, in the distance, he saw Rhodes at the gates leaning against a wall eyeing Tony very carefully. "Huh. 8:57" Rhodey raised his eyebrows in suprise and grinned, bringing his hand up to pat Tony's muscly back. "Not ba-" Rhodes cut himself off and he wrinkled up his nose in disgust.  
>"Oh man,Tony. There's a thing called a shower" Rhodes shook his head and walked away from Tony pinching his nose as the school bell rang assembling the first class.<p>

...Free period.

Tony found Rhodes at his locker and, luckily enough, Tony's was right beside his. His smart brain came up with a smart lie and he told himself it's not lying...it's just...stretching the truth.  
>"I'm sorry, Rhodey, I've been working non-stop doing favors for friends and I haven't had any breaks except from an hour or two at night for sleep."<br>While saying this, Tony's hand fumbled about in his locker desperate to find some deodorant. Finally, he felt a cold bottle slide into his hand as he pulled it out and read: 'LYNX ATTRACT FOR MEN'  
>"Score!" Tony shouted, he didn't expect it to be that loud and everyone turned to look at him. His bottom lip pouted and then the people turned their heads, so Tony lifted his shirt, revealing his six pack, and started to spray.<br>Rhodey rolled his eyes: "Stop showing off!" He slapped Tony on the arm playfully and Tony flashed a grin at him.

Walking down the hall was Pepper Potts, the not so fortunate one of the school. A couple of boys were gathered near the end of the corridor, laughing at Pepper as she bowed her head and kept up the pace. A foot struck out in front of her own, it took her by surprise, and she tripped and fell hard on the ground. Everyone laughed as she frowned and she kept moving. Turning the next corner, her eyes dared to look up and she saw the best thing she has seen in a long time. Tony Stark was at his locker with his best friend, his shirt lifted up to reveal his six pack, deodorant being sprayed underneath his top. And the attractive grin that caught almost every girl off guard. She didn't realize it but her jaw had dropped almost to her chest and her eyes were wider than a full moon. Quickly, she took a couple of paces back, making sure she was out of Tony's sight, and took three deep breaths. Was she falling for Tony Stark?

"Uh-oh, here's trouble" Rhodey complained with a teasing tone.  
>"Hmm?" Tony lifted his head to see Pepper walking towards them with a grin spread across her face. It was like she was walking in slow motion with wind blowing on her face making her hair fly back. She was amazing. In sudden realization, Tony saw he still had his top half way up with the deodorant can pressed under his right underarm. Almost dropping the can, his hand threw the bottle into the locker and he shut it tight, leaning against it and shot his most charming grin welcoming Pepper.<br>"Hi guys!" Oh god, she was so cheerful, and Tony just wanted to see her like this forever but Rhodes soon changed that.  
>"Hey, Pepper" Rhodey said in a boring tone.<br>"Hi, Pep" Tony said with a smile. Her eyes widened with excitement at this "Pep...I like it!" They both chuckled but Rhodes butted in.  
>"Revised for biology?" Rhodes raised an eyebrow at Pepper and smirked, he knew what she was going to say.<br>"WHAT?!" WE HAVE NO BIOLOGY TEST!" It was almost a shout but no one turned, it was more like a panicky voice.  
>Rhodey never stopped smiling as Pepper never stopped frowning "Oh boy, I better use this free period to revise, I'll catch up with you guys later" She gave a sweet smile to Tony and he quickly returned it as she strode off towards the entrance to the roof.<br>Tony turned to Rhodey and became mad.  
>"What's your problem with her, we have no test, you did that to get rid of her." Rhodes saw the rage bubble up in the brown eyes staring into his.<br>"Dude, rumor has it she is the most annoying girl eve-" Tony cut him off with his face moving closer to Rhodey's "RUMORS! God, I hate it when people do that..." He bowed his head then moved it up so his eyes could meet Rhodes' which were full of shock.  
>"Do me a favor, give her a chance" At this, Tony stormed off out of school to where he left his armour. His feelings for Pepper were growing...rapidly...<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:Secrets:  
>"Does he work for someone? Has he ever worked for someone? Are we going to a lab? I bet he built a lab..."Pepper trailed off as she realized that Rhodes was not listening as they walked towards one of Stark Industries abandoned bases where they expected Tony to be hiding from the world. They looked around, seeing computers with dust all over them, broken seats and tables with doodles all over them,<br>but no Tony. As they both started to give up, they heard a crash and an impatient scream coming from down to the basement.

All different kind of machines were tugging at all different parts of Tony's body. At one point, the machine tugged too hard on Tony's leg and he couldn't help but let out an annoyed scream saying "Hey! C'mon! It's my first time!" JARVIS replied with:  
>"Please, sir. Try to keep still" His British accent filled the room as the machines continued pulling the metal off his body.<p>

Following Rhodey, Pepper's hands were shaking at the thought that something bad had happened downstairs, underneath the building. Cautiously,  
>Rhodey's foot stepped off the last step and he looked around him being very careful and watchful, aware that they might be being watched.<br>They both had confused written all over their faces as they were standing in an empty room, with one part of the room which was a wall but it was black and the rest were white. A little blue rectangle projector was at the side and Rhodey signaled Pepper to move forward towards the black wall, when they got close enough, they realized it was a big door with a security system on the side. "What are you doing?!" Pepper whispered but in the loudest tone she could possibly whisper with anger and fear in her voice as his finger moved closer to the blue, shining projector. Suddenly, Rhodey had a sudden realization,  
>"Tony!" Rhodey murmured it and Pepper heard as his eyes widened and he pressed four buttons into the screen.<br>'1967' This was always the password Tony used on everything since it was when his Dad was born, he hoped to god it was right.  
>Pepper screeched as the black door rolled upwards and the scene opened up infront of them as they both gasped with shock and fright.<p>

"Sir, it appears someone has gotten into the armory." Tony ordered JARVIS to stop everything and place all the missing parts of the armor back on. The helmet slipped on his head and he turned around lifting up his hand to aim at the threat trying to break in.

Screaming emerged from the building when she saw the tall metal man with the glowing eyes staring right at her. Rhodey started to take a couple of paces back with eyes wide open with fear. Continuing to scream, she pulled out her phone and started to dial three numbers into the buttons.

"Shit! Pepper, no!" Without thinking, he sprinted straight for her as she and Rhodey started to sprint away from him. With all his force, he stretched out with both arms and grabbed her by the waist pulling her up and towards him as she screamed like she was being tortured. "Pepper!" Tony screamed, he couldn't have her scared of him. Once he said her name, she stopped struggling and started breathing heavily,  
>she realized she was in the air when she looked straight into the glowing eyes. "T...Tony?" Sounding scared, she reached up one hand to touch the glowing circle in the middle of his chest, hearing and seeing Rhodey come up behind, he decided it was time they knew the truth as his mask flipped up away and rested on his head, the way sunglasses do, revealing Tony Stark.<p>

As Pepper sat on the desk with her legs swinging, Rhodes leaned on it beside infront of them, Tony bowed his head with his arms crossed, still in the armor but you could see his attractive face. Taking a deep breath, he decided to tell them how, why, when and where.  
>"I..." Tony started as both of his friends looked up at him as he looked up at them.<br>"I call it..." A moment of silence.  
>"Iron Man..." Obviously, he expected something more than just two blank expressions. When Rhodey raised an eyebrow to sarcastically say,'That it?' he carried on and this time there was to be no hesitation.<br>"I built it because I need to know if my mother is dead or alive-" Unexpectedly, he was cut off...by Pepper.  
>"Tony" She said his name softly. "She's been missing for two years..." Pepper immediately took it back as she saw it upset him.<br>Drilling his brown eyes into her blue eyes, he continued with sadness and anger in his voice.  
>"Yes, but police haven't got the tech i have" When he tried to look at the redhead, she looked down pretending to stare at the ground.<br>"When?" Rhodes finally spoke up however his voice was very dull. Moving his eyes to meet Rhodey's, he continued.  
>"I started it four days ago and it was complete within two days-"<br>"-two days?!" Her voice was high pitched but he could tell she was very impressed. Stark had some tricks up his sleeve.  
>To all their surprise, JARVIS joined in.<br>"Mr. Stark has worked on the suit for 39 hours and 42 minutes, that is including the armory, uploading me into the suit and putting safety checks into the suit." JARVIS finished as Tony nodded, when, suddenly, Rhodey smiled.  
>"Nice back up" He winked at Tony which put a grin on his face.<br>"This all makes so much sense..." Pepper started, still looking down as the two boys stared at her.  
>"Of course you would build it here, no one can find you, and of course you were spraying deodorant because you smelled because you had to hide the armor in a big bin!" Pepper was screeching with excitement as she jumped down and looked around, a big pretty grin on her face. The so called 'Iron Man' started to walk slowly towards her.<br>"How did you know that?" Tony asked, rasing his eyebrow. The only reply he got was Pepper tapping her nose to say 'Some things should stay a secret'He didn't accept this answer as he frowned and moved towards her, still raising his eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and spoke to them like they were stupid.  
>"Oh, c'mon guys, it's common sense!" Pepper was smiling as the boys smirked. There was a moment of silence until Rhodey broke it.<br>"Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped." Rhodes was walking towards Iron Man when he placed his hand on his metal shoulder and pulled him so he spun around to face him. For a long time, Tony just stared at Rhodey.  
>"I was scared of what your reaction would be, I was scared that I would lose you as a friend" Tony bowed his head and then brought his eyebrows down to just above his eyes showing that he regretted what he just said.<br>"Oh man, that was so cheesy" Automatically, his helmet flipped down so that it covered his face as he heard Rhodey laugh in the background.  
>"JARVIS?" "Yes, sir." JARVIS replied instantly.<br>His brown eyes looked to Pepper then Rhodey, they were both awaiting his next move, although all they could see were two luminous, bright,  
>rectangular eyes. Two hot rod red and gold boots walked over to the middle of the armory as his arms spread open.<br>"Remove suit at once" This was said with hesitation as Tony remembered how he felt last time the armor was being removed and this time his crush was watching.  
>"Right away, sir." Without delay, noisy machines made thier way towards Iron Man.<p>

After a lot of screaming, yelling and laughing, Tony was finally out of the suit. At the same time as Tony sighed out a breath of relief, Guns n Roses started to play aloud into the armory. Rhodey jumped as the phone started to vibrate along to the music in his jacket pocket. Pepper laughed as Rhodey was looking at his phone, knowing who it was when he answered.  
>"Yeah...Mom...we just went round to our friend's..." Tony's eyes locked with Rhodey's as he moved his head up and down to signal that they went round to Pepper's.<br>"...Pepper's" She looked up from playing with one of the tools on the workbench and her eyes widened as she mouthed 'WHAT?!' Tony couldn't help but chuckle as Rhodes stopped himself from laughing. Tony stepped sideways so his arm was touching Pepper's and his head leaned closer to her ear.  
>"Why were you laughing before?" When she looked up, Tony's face was right in her's...she wasn't objecting, in fact, she was moving closer without realizing it. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she moved in to whisper something into his ear.<br>"Beyonce wins, you guys have bad music taste's" He couldn't stop himself when his jaw dropped while Pepper walked over to stand in front of Rhodes, laughing.  
>"JARVIS-" Tony never took his eyes off Pepper as she looked over to catch him staring...he didn't stop.<br>"Mom...your-breaking-up...Mom!...Gotta go-no-signal...BYE!" Rhodes flipped his phone over and buried his face in his hands.  
>"Play 'ACDC' track list" Straight after the words escaped his mouth, he burst out laughing when he saw the expression on her face.<br>"JARVIS-!" She started but was cut off by the loud song 'Back in Black'He just about heard her scream his name when he turned around to see her running straight for him. Fortunately for him, he grabbed her just in time and their hands locked in the air as they pushed against each-other when he realized something...they were flirting. Unexpectedly, Pepper felt a strong push on her back, resulting on her falling on Tony. They both crumpled to the ground,laughing, and then out of the blue, Tony started screaming in pain as his hand grabbed the arc reactor.

The blue light was being drowned out and replaced with a flickering blue and black as Tony's eyes started to flutter shut. It took her a while to figure out that it was her who had triggered this but no one knew this would happen. So, she cupped his head in her heads and shook him gently: "TONY!" She was screaming with Rhodey by her side shouting the same thing: "Tony, please!" A scream formed in her throat when she was surprised by a machine with a metal claw attached on the end carrying what looked like a charger for some sort of device.  
>"Miss Potts, Mr. Rhodes, please take a step back from " JARVIS politely asked. Pepper took her hands away from Tony's face while feeling Rhodey's hands grip onto her arm and pull her back.<br>The machine attached the device onto the middle of Tony's chest, the arc reactor. Tony's chest started to move up and down showing that he was starting to breathe steadily again.

The crash could be heard from two blocks away even though it was only two cars. A young boy, aged 11, lay in the back, blood covered his face and a big pool of blood forming through his shirt.

"Oh my god..."  
>...<p>

"Get him to the hospital!" Voices echoed all around him.  
>...<p>

"It's not working! You need to get him to his bedroom!" A familiar feminine voice shouted at the doctors.  
>...<p>

"JARVIS!"  
>...<p>

"Arc reactor is fitted, Mrs. Stark"

His eyes opened as he came back to reality and he took a deep breath in and started to cough violently.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:Weapons:  
>"Oh, come on! Seriously?" He grinned when he heard her reaction through the earpiece. Iron Man was flying at full speed past buildings,<br>houses, shops etc.  
>"Pepper, the guy was in my face, his glasses were just about touching my nose when he said to me 'Don't touch her or i'll snap you in half,<br>Stark!' And then left me to roll on the floor, dying of laughte-" This time, he was cut off by the two of them laughing so much that it left a pain in their stomachs. When they finally stopped, Pepper let out a disapointed sigh. She couldn't see it but Tony had a lost puppy dog face on and he had confusion written all over him.  
>"What? You sad i didn't punch him in the face?" Tony asked with a chuckle while he dodged birds, planes and very tall buildings. Pepper let out a small sarcastic laugh.<br>"No, it's just that...some nerd has a crush on me but i wanted some really attractive guy to have a crush on me..." Her voice trailed off at the end and started to quieten. He so desperately wanted to say 'You don't have to worry about that' but he was too nervous to say it.  
>"Oh shut up, Pepp-" Red flashing lights were all around Tony's head in the armor as bells were ringing in his actual head, something bad just happened.<br>"Pepper?" No answer just radio static. He decided to try again.  
>"PEPPER?!" This time he almost shouted it, this had him so worried, if this was a joke, it wasn't funny.<br>"Tony!" Her voice was muffled under the static.  
>"Pepper? Pepper? What's happening?" Back at the armory, he showed her to a chair which spun in all different directions and it was made to communicate with Iron Man or take over if something had happened to Tony. Last time he saw her, she was laughing and grinning, spinning around in the chair while he got dressed into the suit.<br>"Tony! Don't-" Her words were being cut off by the static.  
>"-back" 'Don't-back' Tony thought and he figured that she meant 'Don't come back'<br>"-dangerous...arc...failure...you...risk-" She was completely cut off this time and the static had gone. He decided to ignore her and go back to the armory. This was strange, Iron Man had no enemies yet, he just always scouted the area for any robberies or murderers but now something dreadful had happened in the armory and he was about to find out what. At full speed, Iron Man did a 180 degree turn and headed straight for the armory, his thrusters making a lot of noise behind him.  
>"JARVIS, how am i holding up?" In front of Tony, a diagram of the human body appeared with a circle piece in the middle of his chest. The body was covered in red and black. Red representing healthy blood, black representing...well...something unhealthy...very unhealthy and black was extending from the arc reactor. "Sir, it appears the arc reactor cannot take much pressure or it will fail and then leads to your heart failing which then means-"<br>"Yeah, i get the jist, JARVIS." Tony didn't want him to finish the sentence.  
>"Can i fight?" Tony asked with curiosity, either way he was going to have to put up a fight.<br>"I would recommend firing weapons is the best fight you can put up, Sir. Out of the armor, a suitable fight would be throwing a punch and hoping to knock them out." Tony sighed.  
>"Didn't want to hear that, JARVIS" He complained like he did as a kid when his mum and dad said no to him.<br>"Sorry, sir" JARVIS apologized.

Iron Man landed throwing a punch down on the ground and standing up straight, only to see Rhodey and Pepper standing side by side facing Tony forcing nervous grins.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Iron Man was an inch or two taller than Rhodes and he had his helmet flipped open revealing brown eyes, brown hair and an in between pale and tanned complexion.  
>"Well, i'm sorry! But i was bored!" Rhodes had just explained that he tried to try on one of the suits but it didn't recognize him so it set the alarms off. Pepper started to back away slowly when she heard metal boots coming from behind her, she was about to make a sprint when she felt a cold, hard hand grab hers and pull her back.<br>"OW! Tony! That hurt!" She moaned as she rubbed her hand and he eyed her carefully, he started of calm.  
>"I know why the radio chatter happened-" Which was because when someone broke into the armor, it shut down which meant all communications were shut down until it was retrieved.<br>"but i don't know why all the fuss" Tony's tone started to rise as he remembered how scared he had been. Pepper gulped and decided to look him straight in the eyes.  
>"I didn't realize Rhodes was there and when the alarms went off, i ducked under the chair but still had my earpiece and the connection was slightly there but then it died..." Pepper's eyes averted from his eyes to his reactor and she started to trace the outline of it.<br>"I told you not to come back because it would be too dangerous, your arc reactor would fail and you would be risking your life-" She stopped when she realized Iron Man's big hand had a hold of her smaller bony ones and he smiled sweetly at her while her mouth was wide open.  
>"I would've come back anyway, i couldn't let anything happen to my best friends, your all i have" He glanced back at Rhodes who was walking towards him with a smile on his face. Placing his hand on Iron Man's shoulder, he realized where Tony's other hand was.<br>"Thanks, man." Rhodes walked out and proceeded to walk up the stairs. Pepper turned and her hand slipped out of Tony's as she started to walk away, he didn't move. Just before she reached the stairs, she turned around and called out to Tony.  
>"You're all i have too, you know?" Tony's heart stopped at her words as he smiled, turned around and ordered JARVIS to remove the suit.<p>

"Remind me once again-" Tony started rambling on to Rhodes"-why does school exist?" Tony, Rhodes and Pepper were all walking towards the rooftop for their free period. Once he'd rolled his eyes, he explained why.  
>"Some people aren't son's of genius billionaire's and get home schooled while they build all their fancy stuff which we can't posses for another twenty years" Tony looked at him in shock.<br>"Rhodey, i gave you a phone that people would pay a trillion just to analyse, does that not mean something to you?...I'm hurt" Rhodes slapped his arm teasingly and then they both realized that Pepper wasn't her usual Pepper self, she'd usually be talking it up but today she just sat on the wall and sipped out of her Subway cup.  
>"Hey..." Tony sat next to her as Rhodes watched, she didn't even look at him. Her eyes were wide open as she carried on sipping out of the cup...Non-stop. Swiftly, Tony grabbed the cup and pulled it away from Pepper's lips as she stared at him with an angry expression. His lips touched the straw and then he drunk out of it, making the sipping noise Pepper did. He held it out for her.<br>"You want it now, hun?" He said with a sarcastic grin, he was such a flirt. Intentionally, she shot him a cheeky but at the same time sweet smile as she drunk from the straw. She looked up at him with eyes full of victory, knowing he did not expect this and what was to come.  
>"Thanks...Babe" She said the last word with a hiss and went back to sipping out of the cup.<br>"Okay, what has-" *ACDC SHOOT TO THRILL* Tony made a groaning noise in his throat as he said to Pepper:  
>"We'll talk later." She just stared at him with rageful eyes.<br>"This is Tony Stark speaking"  
>"Hello, Tony" A very familiar voice spoke at the other end of the phone "...I'm sorry, but i have a bad memory and you sound familiar..." He was waiting for an instant reply of words but instead a mischievous chuckle formed on the other end.<br>"Tony, it's your Dad's good friend, Obadiah" Tony's eyes broadened as he remembered who this was.

"Assistant..."

"Mr. Stark..." Words danced around in his head

"Mr. Stark! There's a fire!"

"Maria, GO!"

"You.." He almost tripped over his own two feet as Pepper and Rhodey looked at him with puzzlement.  
>"You were there..." Tony's voice started to louden in fury.<br>"My father died saving his family and you survive?!" He was shouting down the phone now while the other two lowered their heads in empathy.  
>Silence.<br>"There will be a black limo outside your school at 3:00, it will take you to Stark Industries HQ, we'll chat there. Goodbye, Tony."  
>There was a beeping sound which symbolized the end of the call. Clenching his fist, Tony swung the backpack off his shoulder and threw it at the wall where Pepper was sat, staring at him with , he ran to the wall to pull out another backpack that looked heavier. Swinging it over his shoulder, his two best friends knew exactly what it was as he buckled the two straps up which met at his arc reactor. The backpack also had an arc reactor and Tony slammed his hand down on it with a serious face. Within ten seconds, Tony Stark had transformed into Iron Man.<br>"Tony-" Iron Man didn't wait around to listen, he ran at full speed towards the end of the building and jumped off. The last they saw of Tony, for now, was his red and gold boots with blue lights coming from them, leaving a trail of smoke behind him as he turned a building heading straight for Stark Industries.

The armor detached itself from Tony and camouflaged itself as a backpack on his back. Walking towards the building, a man in a black suit stepped in front of him and pushed him away from the doors, preventing Tony from walking inside.  
>"Hey! Watch it! I have an appointment with Obadiah Stane!" Without even making eye contact with Tony, the guard started listening to another man through his earpiece. After a while, the guard turned to Tony.<br>"Top floor, end of the corridor." With a nod of his head, Tony started to walk towards the doors that stated 'Stark Industries'

In the distance, Tony's eyes locked on to the door that said 'Obadiah Stane'. He growled as he started to fast walk towards it, ignoring everyone who gave him a strange look. The doors swung open as he found sitting in his chair swinging around to face his business partner's son.  
>"And so, the prodical son returns." Obadiah grinned as he got up and walked over to Tony holding out his arm. He had no hair, blue eyes but they were nothing like Pepper's, her's were much more lively and full with happiness as his were full of mischief, he had a grey beard yet still some streaks of brown and he wore a blue stripy shirt, black pants, a black blazer and a red tie. As Tony realized it would not be a good idea for them to get off on a bad start, he took his hand and shook it while forcing a smile onto his face. Suddenly, Obadiah frowned as he asked Tony to take a seat. The seat was facing his desk while Obadiah sat behind it, the computer to the left and a half full coffee cup on the right. His eyes met Tony's as he gave him a small smile.<br>"Your father was a great man, a close friend and a great inventor, he invented things that no one else could for another 30 years...  
>until he created you" Frowning, Tony felt his face starting to turn red with anger, he could tell Stane was enjoying this.<br>"You know what? I'm just gonna get to the point. We have tech here, at Stark Industries that you and Howard created but we don't understand it and we need more of them, Tony, so, i am giving you the oppurtun-" Obadiah's eyes shot up at Tony as he saw he was standing up with his fists clenched.  
>"Don't you fucking dare! You will not use mine and my Father's creations to make your weapons to slaughter innocents! Open your eyes,<br>Obadiah! Terrorists can steal those and I can't even imagine what they would do with them!" This time, Tony felt small as Obadiah stood up,  
>which made Tony and inch smaller. When he placed a hand on Tony's shoulder, Tony violently shrugged him off and stepped back.<br>"My father sacrificed himself for YOU! AND YOU WANT TO USE HIS TECH FOR WEAPON-" Obadiah felt like a child as Tony was screaming at him,so,  
>he decided to throw it right back at him.<br>"WE'RE A WEAPONS COMPANY, TONY! AND GUESS WHAT WEAPONS DO?! PROTECT US FROM BEING KILLED!" Tony laughed at Obadiah and moved closer,  
>their noses almost touching.<br>"Well, what's gonna protect you from being killed?" At this, Tony pushed the doors open and stormed off heading for the elevator, dialing Pepper's number into the phone knowing Rhodey would be too busy.  
>"Pep? Where...Yeah...I'm-...PEPPER!" He had to shout her name to get her to stop talking for just a second.<br>"Meet me at the armory...just...Pep...yeah...see you there" Once outside, Tony pressed the arc reactor down. Immediately, red and gold metal wrapped itself around Tony and he flew out of the dark alleyway while JARVIS informed him that 'Miss. Potts' is in the armory.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Those three words:  
>'This man in armour thinks that he can protect us all, he flies around at and supposedly 'protects us' and wants us to trust him when we don't even know who he is-' 'I disagree!' 'This man is putting his life at risk and using his time to protect us-'<br>"Power off" Pepper ordered as she shut her eyes and leaned back in Tony's chair with a sigh. She must of dozed off because she didn't hear Iron Man come in and stroll over placing his hands on her shoulders, massaging them. Letting out a sigh, she opened her eyes and saw that two glowing eyes were staring into her's.  
>"Hey, Iron Man." She smiled but she didn't know Tony's expression until his mask jerked open to reveal his chocolaty brown eyes staring deeply into her's with a smile on his face.<br>"Don't listen to all that, haters right?" Tony shrugged while Pepper softly giggled. When it was silent again, she pulled herself up and walked over to Tony.  
>"Listen, Tony, I-" She frowned when she realized how tall he was as Iron Man. Boldly, her hand covered the arc reactor and she pushed down, resulting in Tony's eyebrows raising when his suit was being packed away into the backpack then carried away by one of his machines. 'Better' She thought.<br>"I'm sorry about before, it's just my Dad is always on missions and i worry about him." She looked around hesitantly before carrying on, tears building up in her peaceful eyes.  
>"And i feel like you and Rhodey are too busy and i can never talk to you guys about my problems." A tear rolled down her face as she thought that maybe she was a little bit...lonely.<p>

She was crying, and if he couldn't deal with crying in general, how could he cheer her up. Seeing her like this broke his heart as he realized that he has been a bit of jerk, the way he has ignored her. Before he knew it, his arms were wrapped around her and her head was placed on his shoulder, the arc reactor putting the only bit of space between them.

The unexpected happened when Tony went in to hug her, she couldn't believe it. They were friends and friends can hug but this just increased her feelings for him by 50%.  
>"I'm so sorry, Pepper. You can talk to me about anything." The words were muffled as he spoke into her hair. Sobbing, she tightened the hug and closed the gap between them.<br>"I'm upset because I'm being bullied in a way-"  
>"YOU WHAT?!" Tony pulled out of the hug and held her arms, a strong grip on her.<br>"For how long?!" He sounded very concerned as Pepper was still in shock at his reaction.  
>"A year, i'm not very popular..." She trailed off.<br>"By who?" He was very stern and Pepper could see that he was not leaving without an answer. Rolling her eyes, she decided to tell him the truth.  
>"A group of boys, they always hang at the end of the corridor by room T2" An evil grin was replaced by a frown on Tony's face as he let Pepper go and went to sit on the chair, Pepper joined him.<br>"Why do you need to know?" Pepper already knew the answer but she wanted to hear him say it. Tony double looked her, his eyes went from the wall to Pepper, to the wall and then back to Pepper.  
>"Some things are left a mystery." Tony tapped his nose as Pepper frowned and moved away from him unvictoriously, as he moved closer to her "Fine...So, what did you want to talk about?" Tony looked at her in befuddlement.<br>"Oh right, Stane..." He said Stane with a hiss as he started to tell her what happened. After she knew the full story, she cursed.  
>"Fucking prick" Tony's eyes broadened as his jaw dropped.<br>"Miss. Potts, that is bad language!" Tony teased her.  
>"Oh, shut up-"Her head moved to face Tony and when she did, she found that his face was right by her's and his eyes were locked on to her lips and then he smirked when his eyes met her's.<br>"-Tony." After positioning his hand on her hip and the other on the couch to keep him from falling, Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck as they both tilted their heads and moved in closer...and closer...

"Sir, Mr. Rhodes approaches." Ignoring JARVIS, Tony continued to move in as Pepper hesitated, pulling away from Tony leaving him to fall face down on the couch.  
>"Guys, i brought pizz-" Rhodes saw Tony lying face down on the couch and Pepper squeezed into the side.<br>"So, did he stay up all night again?" Pepper chuckled as Tony stayed in the position he was. Were things going to be awkward?

They all ate in silence, enjoying the pizza Rhodes had brought. When the boys were finished, they talked about what happened at Stark Industries while Pepper took the tiniest bites eating her pizza which, of course, Tony found adorable. Once she was finished, she re-  
>capped what had happened and she felt a bit sick.<br>"I'm going home." She interrupted Tony and Rhodey as she got up and grabbed her pink backpack and on the back it read 'I really don't care' This described Pepper Potts...at times.  
>"I'll give you a lift" Tony shot up and walked towards her.<br>"You don't have a car." Knowing that JARVIS was listening, Tony simply said his name and the Iron Man suit was attached to him. Pepper went to turn away while saying "I'm scared of heights" when she felt two metal arms wrap around her stomach and then she was flying...  
>while screaming the loudest she could.<br>"Pepper. Pepper!" Tony shouted over her screaming when he quickly looked around to open his mask and reveal his face. Expecting Pepper to carry on screaming, she turned and faced him and just stared into his eyes, out of breath.  
>The shining moon lit up the sky as Tony placed Pepper down behind her house, which she could understand.<br>"Thanks-" She tried to move away but Tony had her held in his arms.

"I'm Virginia Potts, but you can just call me Pepper."

"Your arc reactor would fail and you would be risking you life."

"Your all i have too, you know?"

From what had happened, he could tell that she cared for him and maybe had feelings for him so, he took a chance and placed his big, 'iron' hands on her small hips and pulled her in closer. He was taken aback when her hand, again, pressed the arc reactor, taking the bad ass Iron Man away and revealing the handsome Tony Stark.  
>"Better" She simply stated as she wrapped her arms around his neck while he grinned and tilted his head ever so slightly.<br>Before their lips made contact, Tony broke the silence.  
>"Pepper?" "Yes, Tony?"<br>"I love you" Blue eyes met brown and she swiftly moved in closing the gap between her and Tony, their lips crashing together. It was a very passionate kiss and there were hardly any breaks for air but Pepper finally found her chance. In between kisses, she softly said to him:  
>"I love you too" He smiled against her lips and they carried on for another minute until Pepper realized her parents would be getting worried. Rather than Tony pressing the arc reactor, Pepper did it, still clinging onto him. 'She must have an obsession' Tony thought with a grin. Once he was dressed into the armor, he flipped open his helmet and Pepper told him she had to go. She let go and started to move towards her front lawn when Iron Man grabbed her and pulled her back, making their lips instantly Pepper tried to move in for one last kiss, Iron Man's helmet flipped down, which revealed two bright eyes staring at her. Pepper took two swift steps back, smiling,<br>when Tony said:  
>"Goodnight Pep" It was funny for her as Tony's voice was a lot deeper thanks to the voice camouflage created so people could not figure out his identity. Once he said goodnight, his thrusters activated and he sped through the air while she walked to her front door, her mom greeting her with a hug, her head was on her mom's shoulder and she was smiling as she saw Iron Man fly away into the night sky.<p> 


	6. Author's Note

_**Author's Note:**_  
><em><strong>Hi everyone! I know that this isn't that much of a popular story but i enjoy writing it and i am very grateful to you who read it.<strong>_  
><em><strong>The reason i don't post Author's notes on my chapters is because, for some reason, when i try to edit the chapters and i hit save, my laptop doesn't save.<strong>_

_**So, I made this and there will be a couple more along the way, just to thank you guys and keep you updated. If you didn't know, the chapters are updated every four days. There will be plenty more Pepperony, Stane, new enemies and friends.**_

_**Please, please, please follow, favourite or review. I would love to hear from you guys who keep updated with the story.**_

_**Once again, Thank you lots!**_

_**-Becky :)**_


	7. Chaper 6: First Attack

Chapter 6:First Attack:  
><strong>I figured out how i can put author's notes on my chapters, so here you go! Hope you enjoy! If you want more, followfavourite, thanks :)**  
><strong>My good friend, Liam (FeargonLP), told me to wait a week for reviewsfavourites or follows to build up, so i decided to take his advice.**  
><strong>The chapters will be updatedevery week.<strong>

In the tallest buildings, people looked at their window to just get a glimpse of Iron Man flying past at 120 mph. The armory was left in a state, tools, crisp packets, soda cans and pieces of metal flung randomly all over the place.  
>*ACDC SHOOT TO THRILL* The music played aloud into the armor<br>"Connect phone to armoury." Tony commanded JARVIS. A picture of Rhodey popped up in the corner of his eye stating 'RHODEY'  
>"Hello?" "Tony? Where'd you go after school, me and Pepper couldn't find you anywhere." Rhodey sounded anxious.<br>"The armour was gone wasn't it?" Annoyance was in his voice as it was pretty clear where Tony was.  
>"Well...Yes" Rhodes now realized he was acting stupid and not using his brain.<br>"So, where am i, Rhodey?" Rhodes and Pepper looked up at the sky as they saw Tony fly past. They barely got a look seeing as he was flying at more than 150 mph.  
>"Where are you going?" Rhodey asked.<br>"I'm going to see what Stane's plans are, i'm gonna spy on him. I was up most of the night, updating the armour so they can't anaylise it." He sounded deadly serious. "Wish me luck"  
>"Tony, you-" "End call" Unhesitatingly, Rhodey's voice was cut off as his picture faded. Iron Man was hovering outside of Stane's office, looking through the bulletproof window to see him and the board having a meeting.<br>"JARVIS, give me access to cameras, i need to hear them." Rapidly, a blue screen flashed infront of him with the Stark Industries logo on top and underneath was the login and password. 5 seconds passed before the screen flashed red, reading 'WARNING: SECURITY BREACH'and from there, a page of moving numbers appeared. This was telling Tony that JARVIS was doing his job.  
>"Sir, we have access to all cameras in the building, would you like me to locate the one in Obadiah Stane's office?" JARVIS asked.<br>"Immediatley" Tony ordered. Infront of his eyes appeared Obadiah and the board discussing weapons.  
>"Uh, JARVIS, take down the view, I only need ears, not eyes"<br>"At once, Sir" Within a second, Tony could see clearly through the window and could hear everything they were saying.  
>"Zoom in" Instanty, his focus closed in on Stane and the board.<br>"-to posses these weapons now, we can't wait another twenty years..." Stane went on and on until, finally, he started talking about something that caught Tony's attention.  
>"The earth movers would be the perfect weapon." Tony growled.<br>"And what of Tony Stark?" One of the board members asked.  
>"Tony declined my-" Obadiah was cut off by one of the scientists in there with them, pointing at the window with a shaking hand, causing everyone's heads to turn and face Iron Man hovering outside the window with his arms folded accross his chest. Bravely, Obadiah moved towards the window.<br>"I don't know why your here, Iron Man, but that suit your wearing interests me very much." Tony's eyes were starting to burn with fury.  
>"Why don't you come and work with me?" Iron Man did look threatening but Stane ignored it. "You'll have to wait twenty years." A deep voice came from the mask. "We'll be seeing eachother again, Stane." Iron Man turned and activated his thrusters, flying back to the armoury.<p>

"He wants to make our creations into weapons and, furthermore, he wants my suit." Tony rested his head on Pepper's lap as she flicked through a magazine on the couch. His legs were stretched out while Rhodes paced back and forth, taking this way too seriously.  
>"Wait...Are we talking about...I-I-" Rhodes started.<br>"Do you know any other guy who flies around in red and gold metal with his personal AI?" Pepper chuckled as her eyes skimmed pages of the magazine.  
>"Pepper? Are you listening?" The red head looked up to see annoyance in Rhodey's eyes.<br>"Gosh Rhodey, Tony's a big boy, he's got this." Pepper shot him a smile then looked down to see Tony staring into her eyes.  
>"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?" Tony asked as Pepper blused. When Pepper started to move her head down to kiss Tony, they were rudely interrupted.<br>"TONY!" Rhodey shouted which caused the couple to look up in shock.  
>"Obadiah Stane is making weapons to kill people with your creation and what do you do about it? Lounge around, snogging Pepper all day!" Rhodey regretted the words when they escaped his mouth as he saw Tony's jaw drop and Pepper started to push Tony's head off her lap. Tony's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.<br>"Where are you going?" He asked as Pepper pulled on her black leather jacket.  
>"Maybe i am a distraction." She murmured as she walked towards the exit.<br>"Pep?" Tony called out her name before turning to Rhodey and shooting him a look that told Rhodes that he was in trouble. By the time Tony got to the entrance of the stairs, she had gone, she ran home. Of course she wasn't a distraction, she was his everything.

A trail of smoke followed Iron Man's thrusters as he headed for his girlfriend's house.  
>"By the way, Rhodes, we kiss about two or three times a day thanks to school and Iron Man." Tony corrected Rhodes with anger in his voice.<br>"Look, man, I'm really sorry." Iron Man nodded even though his best friend couldn't see him.  
>Suddenley, out of nowhere, something grabbed him side on and once high enough,dropped him, leaving him to fall 100 feet. The metal hit the ground with loud thud. Groaning, Iron Man leaned on one knee, ignoring the pain in his back. Iron Man's HUD re-booted and lit up.<br>"What the fuck was th-" He gasped when he saw a dozen robots shaped like bulky men but they didn't look as advanced as Iron Man. They were painted a shiny silver. Squinting his eyes, he noticed what they had written on the side of each arm:  
>'STARK INDUSTRIES'<br>Not meaning to, Tony screamed in rage and sprinted towards one of the robots, punching it right through the stomach and ripped out the wires through the middle, at the same time, the other 11 fired machine guns and missiles and missed as Iron Man dodged the bullets, still,  
>a few got to him. Repulsors were shooting out of his hands, aiming at the robots created from his own technology.<br>6 more to go.  
>"TONY?!" Hearing Rhodey talk, he let out a sigh of relief knowing he was okay but he felt pissed as he just left him.<br>"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! A LUNCH BREAK?! I'M HERE FIGHTING OFF ROBOTS CREATED BY MY DAD'S COMPANY!" Tony screamed into the earpiece.  
>Finally, he had had enough and ordered JARVIS to ready lasers.<br>"Lasers ready, Sir" JARVIS informed Tony.  
>"Go to hell" Tony shouted at the robots as his wrists revealed two lasers ready to fire. He flew into the air and made sure he had the five robots in view. Spinning around, red beams illuminated from his wrists, leaving the remaining robots to split in two.<br>"Obadiah Stane" Tony growled.  
>"What?" Rhodey sounded puzzled.<br>"Just, get to Pepper's house, explain the situation and oh, tell her your sorry." Tony ignored Rhodey's original question.  
>"Disconnect" Tony commanded and, instantly, Rhodey's voice was cut off. Annoyed, Iron Man flew towards Stark Industries HQ.<p>

He decided to slow down a bit, just in case he doesn't fly into the wall when he burts in.  
>"JARVIS, give me visual on Obadiah." A camera popped up into the corner of the screen which showed Stane sitting at his desk, filling in paperwork. "Disable cameras" Tony ordered and then black and white filled the camera.<br>"Let's slow it down to 100" The thrusters lights dimmed and Iron Man reduced his speed by 50mph. At last, the tower came into view, from a distance, he could see Stane's office. His hand moved up and the circle in his hand brightened. Glass shattered everywhere as Iron Man burst in, lifting his arms and legs up to stop him crashing through the wall. He landed on the carpet and walked towards Stane, who was sitting back in his char, a look of fright on his face.  
>"Why did you send robots after me?" Stane stared into the glowing eyes, as Iron palms rested on the desk, almost snapping the wood in two.<br>No reply.  
>"Why did you send robots after me? I don't like having to say things twice." Iron Man growled. Suprisingly, Obadiah's face straightened as he calmed down and chuckled, standing up straight.<br>"Well, well, what a suprsise, Iron Man." Stane couldn't see it but Tony's eyebrows brought themselves lower so that they sat just above his eyes. Obadiah continued.  
>"That suit is a powerful high tech weapon-" Tony cut off Stane.<br>"This suit is not a weapon." "Oh, well, what would you decribe it as then?" Obadiah asked, feeling smart.  
>"I would describe it as what it is." Iron Man shot back, his voice deep. Obadiah raised an eyebrow.<br>"It's a high tech prosthesis" This made Obadiah laugh which made Tony frown. Stane smiled.  
>"Who are you?" Tony's heart started to pound, he had never been asked this before and now he only just realized that people are going to want to know who Iron Man actually his. Tony came up with a smart comeback.<br>"That's highly classified information" Iron Man's head followed Stane as he walked towards the bar.  
>"I'm gonna-"Obadiah started but Iron Man had him lifted up from the floor by using one hand which was gripped his blazer's lapel.<br>"Look, i need you to know one thing." Iron Man lifted Stane higher.  
>"You can keep throwing your guns at me but you will always miss. You can keep trying to convince me but i will never give in. And you can wish, Obadiah Stane, that you had this suit," Iron Man dropped Obadiah and he fell to the floor with a THUD as Tony walked to the broken window.<br>", but the thing is..." Tony moved his head to face Obadiah's.  
>"I am Iron Man" Iron Man shot out of the window like a bullet leaving Stane replaying the scene in his head.<p>

**It would mean a lot if you favourite/follow/review. Just one of them and i would seriously appreciate it.**


	8. Chapter 7: Pepper Trouble

Chapter 7: Pepper Trouble:  
>His eyes shot open at the sound of his ringtone. On the screen flashed 'Pep', so, he decided to pick up, wondering what time it was.<br>"Pep-"  
>"Tony?!" Pepper sounded worried and troubled.<br>"Pepper? Are you okay-" Again, he was cut off as he stood up trying to pull his jeans on with one hand.  
>"Guys in vans-chasing-downtown-FBI-I-hacked-" Tony decided it was his turn to cut her off.<br>"PEPPER?WHAT?! YOU'RE BEING CHASED?! JARVIS, TRACE CALL IMMEDIATELY" He was struggling with his pants and when he finally got his jeans, top and shoes on, he sprinted downstairs, through the living room, burst out into the cool air and ran towards the armory.  
>"Trace complete, Sir" JARVIS informed Tony through his earpiece. The last he heard from that call was a frantic, high-pitched scream,<br>bullets and her name being called out by himself. With his heart racing, he dressed into the Iron Man suit and followed the directions JARVIS gave him to where Pepper was located. Her phone was traced to an abandoned warehouse. Wasting no time, Tony flew in but to his disappointment, couldn't see any signs of life. It finally hit him that there was an upstairs and he ordered JARVIS to turn on infrared visual, allowing him to see any warmth that was given off, prefably, by the human body. When he got upstairs, he saw 5 men and one girl with bright hair, it was dark, extremely dark but thanks to Iron Man's HUD, he could see everything. Deciding that he needed to get her, no matter what, he took three steps closer as they all turned, their faces filled with surprise.  
>"Iron Man?" One of the agents asked, with shock.<br>"Hand over the girl, I'll take her in." Iron Man said with a serious tone.  
>"How did you find us?" Another asked. This is what he didn't want to be asked but he had an answer.<br>"Police gave me access to their radio's, you guys appear to be on their channel, I heard what she had done and I got here as fast as I could to arrest her." Once done, all the men exchanged looks then the one who had Pepper, held her tightly at her shoulder, pushed her towards him, and then Iron Man did the same, except not tight at all.  
>"She'll be taken to a police station straight away, I'll inform them, you guys don't need to worry." The man who looked like the leader stepped forward and thanked Iron Man.<br>"Just doing my job." At that, he picked Pepper up, her legs swung over his left arm, her back carried in the right and her arms wrapped tight around his neck, and his thrusters activated going at 100mph once they got out of the building.

The wind blew in her face and she was silent, not even looking at Iron Man never mind talking. Tony realized this and he was the one to interrupt the silence.  
>"Talk to me, Pep. What happened?" He asked as he set her down on their school rooftop. It was then that he realized the time, in his HUD he saw it was 12:54. Immediately, she sat in her usual place, not looking up from the ground.<br>"I feel bad, Tony. I'm sorry, this was my fault, you need your rest at night and I interup-" Pepper started as she looked up to find Iron Man with his helmet flipped back to reveal Tony Stark.  
>"Hey," Tony started with a soft, reassuring voice, as he took a hold of her small, pale hand.<br>"I'm always here, whenever you need me, asleep or not, I will always protect you." Once the words were said, Pepper rushed into his arms,  
>forming a hug. Looking into her eyes, he noticed how they were glistening, how they were full of stars. After a while, he gave into his temptation and pressed his lips against hers. He moved his hands down so that they were resting on her hips while her hands moved from his neck to his hair, her fingers fiddling with the brown strands. After two minutes or so, he pulled away, wanting answers.<br>"So, how'd you get in this situation?" His eyebrows raised in curiosity. With a roll of her eyes, she started explaining, still embracing him as he hold her close.  
>"I was searching for any criminal records on Obadiah but as soon as I searched his name, sirens came coming my way so i ran out the back door, jumped over the wall-" She was still talking but Tony was instead picturing the scene in his mind. Blue eyes skimmed the text on the computer until she was stopped by sirens filling the air. At this point, he started to exaggerate.<br>She was dressed in a tight black jumpsuit, revealing half of her legs, her hair tied into a ponytail as she sprinted towards the door,  
>pushing it open. The wall was in her sight and when she reached it, Tony was imagining it in slow motion as she lifted her arms and front-<br>flipped over the wall, her hair swaying in the wind. Once she reached an alleyway, she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.  
>"Tony?" Her voice echoed.<p>

"Tony?" It seemed to be getting louder.

"Tony?!" Suddenly, Tony snapped out of his daydream, and realized the drool starting to fill his mouth as Pepper stared at him with anger.  
>Unexpectedly, she pushed him off with a shake of her head and walked towards the exit doors.<br>"Pepper? Where are-" Realizing she wasn't listening and the mistake he made, he ran after her. He just about saw her strawberry blonde hair turn a corner and Iron Man ran through the halls of their school. It was like a chase and eventually, Pepper got to the entrance and she tried opening the doors but they were locked. Turning around, her blue eyes widened as Iron Man walked towards her. 'He does look scary'  
>she thought to herself. She relaxed when the mask flipped opened.<br>"I couldn't help imagining it, Pep." He explained. Pepper raised an eyebrow.  
>"What were you imagining, exactly?" She folded her arms over her chest and gave Tony a stern look...and that's when it happened.<p>

"Iron Man is in there Mr. Stane and he has company" A man said dressed in a black suit with a badge which showed he was working for Stark Industries.  
>A moment of silence.<br>"Get the girl, she may be important to Iron Man and she most likely knows who he is whereas Iron Man will never tell us." Obadiah replied through the earpiece.  
>"Yes, sir."<p>

Helicopters could be heard from above the school motioning Tony to flip the mask over his face. Pepper realized why they were here'Oh no,  
>they want Tony' Little did she know, he wasn't the one they were after. Behind her, the doors were forced open and two men dressed in black grabbed her and pulled her back.<br>"HEY!" Iron Man screamed. "What are you doing?!"  
>"Sorry, Iron Man. We need her." One of the men replied with a smug smile.<br>"For what? Get back here!" Iron Man ran towards the men as they climbed the ladder leading to the helicopter carrying his girlfriend, who of course, was screaming and kicking.  
>"If you don't give her back, I'll take her by force!" He shouted up. "Get out of here, now" The agent persisted.<br>"Iron Man!" Pepper screamed for her boyfriend to come rescue her.  
>The helicopter flew towards the city with Iron Man on their tail.<br>"Sir, our communications are being hacked!"  
>"Hello, this is Iron Man, you appear to have a friend of mine, if you would avert your attention to the window, you will see the cause of your death if you do not hand her over...right now." Pepper giggled as all the men turned their heads to face Iron Man who was flying, looking through the window staring at them.<br>"Not gonna happen." The agent replied. Pepper gasped at the speed increase but failed when they were all thrown back due to the helicopter suddenly stopping, it felt like it was being grabbed and pulled back so it couldn't move forward. And then they were falling, they all fell out because of the doors being ripped open. Luckily they weren't too high and they were directly above water. Everyone fell in the water except from one. Pepper was being carried by Iron Man, she smiled against his chest and clung on to him.  
>"Let's see what these pricks want." Iron Man shot of towards the agents who were soaked. Climbing out of the water, they looked up to see him coming towards them carrying their objective. Setting Pepper down, Iron Man walked towards the leader, rocks crunching underneath his boots. With a look of terror on his face, the man started to back away until he couldn't anymore as Iron Man held him by the collar.<br>"No! Please! Don't hurt me!" The man cried, whinging like a little kid.  
>"Then tell me why you tried kidnapping her!" Iron Man moved his finger so it was pointing at Pepper who was shivering, sitting on a rock,<br>her arms wrapped around herself, wishing that Iron Man would just carry her home and keep her warm.  
>"It-it was S-Stane's orders"<br>"Why?!" Iron Man demanded still gripping him tightly, pulling him closer.  
>"He wanted to know wh-who you are and he th-thought that s-she would be important to y-you..." The man was shivering, his teeth chattering.<br>A loud scream emerged from behind them. Tony's head whipped around to see Pepper gone and in the air being carried by a man in a white and grey cloak and hood which was pulled over his head. He was standing on a black sphere which was moving rapidly towards the city. Wasting no time, Iron Man took off and headed straight for the strange enemy. It looked like they were heading towards Stark tower.  
>"Why are they all so desperate to get her?" Tony murmured while flying, trying his best to keep up with the man. It angered Tony to see Pepper treated like this, she was swung over the man's shoulder, her arms dangling and her hair swaying in the strong wind.<br>Eventually, Iron Man figured that the man was heading straight for Stark Industries.  
>"Stane" Tony murmured as he ordered JARVIS to active stealth mode.<br>"Sir, I do not recommend stealth mode as it would drain most of your power" JARVIS replied.  
>"JARVIS, I only need 20% when I get in."<br>"Yes, sir"  
>Iron Man was hovering outside Stane's office, peering through the window, no one could see him but he could see everything. Pepper was sat in the middle of the room surrounded by agents and the man Tony saw before was standing behind her with his arms crossed. Now that he could see him clearly, it looked like he wore a mask but his face was painted white with red around the eyes-which were black. The hatred inside of Tony bubbled up when he saw Obadiah walk towards Pepper and talk.<p>

Slowly but surely, Stane was moving towards Pepper, already she could smell an expensive aftershave. He smiled sweetly at her.  
>"Pepper, right?" He asked. Pepper's expression was blank and she wasn't going to give him any answers, 'what's he gonna do anyway?' she thought. When seeing her blank face, he moved closer to her and put his face near her's.<br>"You're gonna tell me who Iron Man is."  
>"Over my dead body!" Pepper spat.<p>

"Over my dead body" JARVIS repeated after Pepper to Tony. Tony had added the feature of lip-reading into JARVIS' system so he doesn't arouse suspicion when he hacks into Stark Industries cameras.  
>"If that's what it takes" JARVIS repeated after Stane. Any minute now, Tony's anger was going to take over Iron Man 'Why is he doing this?<br>He's just jealous of my tech, so he brings Pep into it' Tony thought. After a while he got bored of JARVIS repeating things, so he hacked in.  
>"Now, will you tell me, Miss Potts?" Pepper looked up in shock.<br>"How did you know my last name?" She asked with curiosity.  
>"Will you tell me?" Stane asked sternly.<br>"NO!" Pepper shouted with tears in her eyes at what he might do to get her to tell him, it brought a lump to Tony's throat to see her like this. 'This is all my fault...she's Iron Man's girlfriend, she'll always be in danger because of me' He thought. Next thing she knew, a big bucket of water was being carried by two guards heading for her.  
>"Now, if anyone was to find out I did this, I would be fired but see, I'm CEO so I can do whatever I want, whenever I want even at-"<br>Stane paused to look at his watch.  
>"-ten past one in the morning." He grabbed Pepper's strawberry blonde hair and dunked her head into the water, making sure she couldn't come up for breath.<br>"No! Pepper!" Iron Man burst through the window which resulted in one piece of glass stabbing a guard in the back of his head and falling to the ground. At the sight of Iron Man hovering in the air, Stane grinned and released Pepper who came up and instantly fell on the floor choking and gasping for air. Tony didn't waste any time as he rushed to Pepper's side and patted her gently on the back. Once he ensured that she was alright, he stood up straight and faced Stane.

"Why bring her into this?!" Iron Man screamed. Stane took a step back when suddenly Tony felt two hands gripping his helmet, trying to pull it off. They were unsuccessful as Iron Man's leg flew backwards and booted whoever was tugging at him in the stomach. Tony turned to see the man from before, crouching over, both hands wrapped tightly around his stomach. Before Iron Man could do anymore, ten robots walked in behind Stane. When he heard Pepper start to cough, he decided it was time to go. The robots lifted their arms which revealed machine guns which motioned Iron Man to pick Pepper up and he started to head for the window. Iron Man was stopped suddenly and was pulled back while Pepper was dropped and started to fall 700 feet.

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	9. Chapter 8: Too Close To Death

Chapter 8:Too close to death:  
>A terrified scream echoed New York City. Her whole life flashed before her eyes, all she could see in her mind was her mum and dad laughing. And her friends: Rhodey and Kiera. And Tony. The guy who can make her feel better just by throwing her a smile. She knows she will never be able to see them again. This was it...<p>

He couldn't believe it...what will he do without her? He dropped her and now she's dead...

40 feet when she was suddenly caught. Still screaming, she looked up to see...Iron Man? Except his face was silver and his armor was much more broad. She was so happy that she was alive though.  
>"T-Tony?" Pepper asked with hesitation, hoping it was him so that she could press her lips against his.<br>"Not Tony." A familiar voice came from inside the mask. It suddenly hit her.  
>"Rhodey?!" She practically shouted. Once they landed on a roof of a very tall building, the silver mask flipped open to reveal Rhodes. "I was so scared! Oh! They have Tony! You have to help-" Pepper started to ramble on.<br>"Already on it" And with that, Rhodes took off to help his best friend...

Panting, he moved his hands from the left to the middle and from the right to the left, he was shooting in all directions as the robots kept marching in, non-stop. After Iron Man started to get tired, his hands weren't moving as quickly and he was being surrounded when out of the blue, they all fell to the ground. "I'm only gonna say this once," Tony knew who this was, this got him to smile.  
>"Get out" Instantly, Stane and his agents ran out of the room as Rhodey walked towards Tony holding out his hand. Once Iron Man was up and thanked Rhodes, he ran to the window and jumped. It was weird knowing that Pepper felt like this...falling. When he was 10 feet above the ground he scanned the area.<br>"JARVIS" "It seems Miss Potts is not here, Sir" JARVIS replied as Tony started to worry.  
>"Well, what? Where is she? Oh no, no, no!I have to find..." He trailed off when he heard her call his name.<br>"Oh great, now I'm hearing things"  
>"Sir, it appears that is actually Miss Potts voice" Tony's eyes widened as he turned around. At first, he thought his eyes were deceiving him, he thought he was imagining it. She was there. On a rooftop, grinning from ear to ear, her strawberry blonde hair swaying to the side, she had her hands cupped around her mouth and she was screaming his name.<br>"Tony!" It was then he realized that this was no dream. Pepper was alive!  
>"Pepper!"He gasped as he stopped hovering and headed straight for her. He landed on the roof and his mask automatically flipped up as Pepper ran towards him with her arms open. She jumped into his arms and instantly formed a kiss, a very passionate kiss. He smiled against her lips while tears of joy and relief ran down his face and onto Pepper's cheeks. "Oh, Pepper, I'm so sorry, I thought you were dead and I dropped you and-" He was cut off by Pepper's lips crashing against his, after a minute, she pulled away.<br>"Tony, it's okay, it's wasn't your fault" This made him grin.  
>"Pepper, I love you" Tony always thought he was the kind of guy who would never fall in love, he would just do whatever the hell he wants but this girl, this girl with her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers fiddling with his brown strands of hair which he loved, this girl had changed the way he thought and at that moment, he promised that he will never let her go, he will never let her fall. "I love you too, Tony." Pepper managed to say when Tony wasn't kissing her. A loud thud vibrated the roof they were standing on which made Pepper break away and screech.<br>"Woah, hey" Tony pulled her back so her hip was against his armor. Iron Man's hand lowered when he saw it was just Rhodey.  
>"Man, you two need to get a roof" They all laughed when suddenly Pepper sprinted towards Rhodey and to the boys' surprise, she hugged him.<br>Rhodey didn't know how to react so he just patted her back while Tony's jaw dropped 'So, are they like friends now, what i miss?' He asked himself. "Thank you" Pepper murmured to Rhodey as she pulled away.  
>"So, what are we gonna do about Stane? What even happened?" Rhodey asked as Tony walked forward waving his hand at him.<br>"Long story and as for Stane-" Iron Man pulled Pepper close so that his arms were wrapped around her waist.  
>"-follow me." Iron Man took off into the dark sky filled with bright stars with Rhodey following behind.<br>"So, what's this armor actually called? Like, the nickname?" Rhodes asked as he caught up to Iron Man. For a moment, there was silence like Tony was thinking.  
>"War Machine" Tony said with a smile as Rhodey laughed excitedly. As Iron Man's head moved down, he saw that Pepper's head was laying against his chest and her blue eyes could not be seen as they were shut. Tony sighed as he remembered what happened, he remembered her terrified scream ...and it was haunting him.<br>"Rhodes, stop." War Machine threw his hands up in front of himself and soon after the blue lights faded from the middle of his hands.  
>"What's up?" Rhodes asked.<br>"I need you to get Pepper home so I can deal with Stane, that man will not try to use my creations to make harmful weapons, he will not try to kill me and he will not get away with making me drop Pep by accident-"  
>"Tony" This time when Iron Man looked down her eyes were open and they were staring straight into his.<br>"You need to aim then fire, not fire then aim, violence is never the answer. Wait until his next move and then go after him...Be the bigger person that I know Tony Stark is." When she said his name, she gently placed her hand on his arc reactor. After sometime of thinking, Iron Man's mask flipped open.  
>"She's right, man" War Machine stated as his mask flipped open. Tony's gaze lowered so his eyes met Pepper's. After a nod, his mask returned to cover his face.<br>"You're right..." And she was, no, violence wasn't the answer, he had to plan this out, he had to figure out how he was going to get rid of the 'Earth Movers' blueprints and destroy the existing ones. He was not going to take any chances.  
>"Too damn right I am" Pepper grinned as Tony chuckled. She loved making him laugh.<br>"Guys, I don't know if you've noticed but we're currently 500 feet in the air and I have to meet with Kiera in half an hour" Pepper sounded a little annoyed. 'Kiera?' Tony's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.  
>"Who's Kiera?" Rhodes slammed his metal hand on his helmet and shook his head as Pepper's jaw dropped.<br>"Her best friend? Usually sit next to each other in every lesson?" Rhodes explained. Tony thought back to one lesson: Biology.

Sitting at the back of the class was a bonus for Tony, not only because he got to work on Iron Man blueprints and listen to any activity with the police but he also got to sit a row behind Pepper, so, most of the time he was staring at her even though all he could see was her strawberry blonde hair. She was always laughing and whispering with the girl beside her. Tony only just realized her now. She had two black ponytails which were kind of curly, her face was pale with rosy red cheeks and her eyes were green but blue, but kind of yellow...  
>her eyes were definitely different. Now that he thought about it, the two best friends seemed totally different. After school, you would always see Kiera wear a forest green hat while Pepper wore a flower crown.<p>

Snapping back to reality, he decided to answer.  
>"Aaah yeah, I remember her." Tony tried to sound as casual as possible. Obviously it didn't work as Pepper raised her eyebrows.<br>"Okay then, anyway, she's coming to mine pretty soon. It's important." The two boys glanced at each other then back at Pepper. Rhodey broke the silence.  
>"Pepper, it's like two in the morn-" Rhodes started "Please don't tell her parents!" Pepper forgot she was in Tony's arms in the air and shot up resulting in Iron Man's grip loosen. Tony didn't want to hear her scream ago but there it was, he just about caught her by her wrist and he pulled her back up so that she wrapped her arms around his neck as his helmet flipped open and as soon as it was , his lips pressed a gentle kiss on her neck.<br>"You seriously need to calm down, Pep" Tony said after a while of silence.

"Seriously, why?" Pepper and her best friend Kiera were sitting in Pepper's room both crossed legged in their pajamas as Pepper told Kiera that she hacked her Dad's laptop and got into the FBI files for Tony.  
>"Why did he even want to know about that guy?" Kiera asked, her voice filling the room as everything in the house was silent. Pepper noticed what she had just told Kiera and she had to lie to get her off the case.<br>"Oh, um, Mrs Rhodes has been going on about him, apparently he's been in court once or twice and Tony was curious so, I was curious"  
>Kiera raised an eyebrow.<br>"There's a lot of curiosity" Pepper chuckled at Kiera's response.  
>"You know what I'd find cute?" Pepper grinned from ear to ear as Kiera started to shuffle back.<br>"I don't even wanna know about your fantasy-" Kiera started with her hands up.  
>"If Lewis became friends with Tony" Pepper jumped up and down in excitement on her bed as Kiera put her head in her hands when suddenly her head shot up, her bluey-greeny eyes meeting Pepper's blue.<br>"Wait. Why does Lewis have to become friends with Tony? Why not Tony become friends with Lewis" Pepper placed her hands on her hip while smirking "You are so fussy." Kiera's jaw dropped and she quickly grabbed a pillow, hurling it at Pepper's head.

The room that he lay in was a complete mess, cans of coke scattered everywhere along with a few crisp packets and just to add to this mess scrunched up papers were flooding the floor coming from the bin under his wooden desk. The only thing that wasn't a mess was his bed which was always made up, seeing as Tony always lies there, thinking about life. And this is what was happening right now. His hair was sticking up like he'd just been on a motorbike with no helmet on, his lips formed a frown and his shirt was off revealing the arc reactor. When he was just about to doze off even though it was six in the morning, he heard his door slowly creak open, light filling the room. Tony didn't bother looking up, he knew who it was.  
>"You okay?" Rhodey asked, walking over to sit on the edge of Tony's bed. Tony decided to sit up and face Rhodes "I dropped her...Her scream is haunting me, Rhodes."<br>"Man, it's not your fault." Rhodes tried to get Tony to cheer up but it obviously didn't work as Tony re positioned himself so that he was laying on the bed, his head resting on the pillow with his eyes shut.  
>"Someone's here to see you."Rhodes told him as exited the room. Tony didn't bother getting up, he couldn't be arsed listening to Mrs Rhodes speeches again. He must of went to sleep two minutes after that because he woke up with a heavy weight on his chest although he didn't remember working with any tools last night. His brown eyes looked down to see red hair sprawled all over his chest and coming close to his neck. His eyes widened as he saw who this was. Pepper was next to him, lying on her side, snuggled up to him. She was using his chest as a pillow. 'Must be uncomfortable' Tony thought. Her head was directly laying on the arc reactor. She looked so peaceful and at rest like no problems could seep into her mind. She was wearing denim shorts, a blue and pink stripy top and her feet were bare.<br>Once he realized the time, which was 8:05, he decided he should probably wake her up seeing as school was in 55 minutes...but he didn't want to. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder.  
>"Pepper?" No response, he lightly began to shake his hand on her shoulder.<br>"Pep?" She moaned and rolled over so her back was on Tony's chest. 'Well, if that isn't going to work...' Tony's lips formed a smile as his head gradually moved down so that his lips were placed near her ear.  
>"Wake up, Pep" After this, he placed kisses starting from the bottom of her neck and moving upwards resulting in Pepper shuffling a bit.<br>"No, Toby, bad dog, go downstairs" Tony chuckled which caused Pepper's eyes to shoot open.

'Dogs don't laugh' Pepper's eyes shot open and she found her boyfriend shirtless, his head close to her's. Turning over to face him, she realized how she got here.

"He's in there, he still thinks it's his fault" Rhodey told Pepper "Can i see him?" Pepper asked.  
>"But Kiera?" "She's practically a third daughter in our family" Rhodey nodded and opened the door to Tony's room. A smile from Pepper was all he needed to know that she wanted to talk in private. The door shut which left the arc reactor lighting the room up in a dark-ish blue color. She smiled to herself when she saw that he was sleeping, so, she sat down by Tony's hip and took a hold of his hand.<br>"Don't blame yourself, Tony" Even though she knew he was sleeping, she still thought it was right that she somehow told him. She realized she was tired herself and wanted his strong, protective arms around her body to keep her warm on the inside and outside. So, she climbed under his arm and rested her head on the arc reactor.'Ow, that's uncomfortable'

Her eyes broadened and she gasped as she rolled towards the edge of the bed. Just in time, Tony reached out an arm and grabbed her own,  
>pulling her back. There was no gap between them now, except from their heads.<br>"Morning" Tony said. "I, um, I-I can explain how i got here-" Pepper was silenced by Tony's lips on her's. She was tempted to lay down with him and sleep but it was almost time for school and Rhodey could walk in and get a wrong idea. Reluctantly, she pulled away after a minute or two.  
>"So, that explanation?" Tony raised an eyebrow. Pepper told him how and why as he nodded and sadly smiled.<br>"I'm putting you at risk..." He murmured. Pepper stood up.  
>"What?" She sounded lost.<br>"You being Iron Man's girlfriend...I'm putting you at risk, aren't i?" Tony asked but to his disapproval, Pepper walked towards the door and placed a hand on the silver, round handle.  
>"Well, if it's too much-"<br>"No, that's not what I-" Tony jumped off the bed but was too late when the door slammed shut. He would of ran after her but then he realized he was shirtless. It'll have to wait until school...

Thank you to you awesome people that read this story, please can i have your opinion? It would help. Thank you :)


	10. Chapter 9: Phone Calls

Chapter 9: Phone Calls:  
><strong>Hi, i don't know if people still read this story but im gonna keep on going anyway because I love writing this.<strong>  
><strong>So, for you who read this, I hope you enjoy :)<strong>

"Why did you say that?" Rhodes slammed the locker door shut as he looked at Tony with angry eyes. Tony had his jeans on, a black top with his arc reactor shining faintly below the fabric and his normal converse. His head was bowed and he was leaning against his own locker.  
>When he didn't reply, Rhodes stood infront of him with his hands in his grey jacket pockets.<br>"You know how I didn't like her at first?" Tony looked up as Rhodes smiled.  
>"Well now, I see how lucky you are, Tony. You're just slouching here when you should be trying to find her" Rhodes complained.<br>"I don't deserve someone like her" His eyes skimmed the room, seeing all the pretty girls walking by but they were no match to Pepper.  
>Just then, the bell rang which meant it was time for lesson one.<p>

The bell had just gone assembling the first class. Pepper, Kiera and Lewis were walking through the school halls towards biology. It was awkward for Pepper as Lewis and Kiera were dating and they were walking hand in hand. The situation had just been explained to Kiera,  
>of course excluding the 'Iron Man' bit, she just said how Tony thinks he's famous and people wanna hurt him so they'll want to hurt her.<br>While walking, Kiera looked deep in thought.  
>"You okay?" Pepper asked curiously.<br>"Hmm? Yeah, I just don't think Tony is THAT famous..." Kiera looked at Pepper, expecting her to agree.  
>"Well, his Dad was CEO of the biggest weapons company in the world and don't forget, those weapons were once stolen and used to kill people, so they will want revenge" Pepper explained as Kiera nodded.<br>"Wait, Tony Stark is your boyfriend?" Lewis finally spoke up as Kiera looked at her boyfriend in astonishemt.  
>"I don't know now." This was a rare time that Pepper was sad like this and Kiera didn't like these times, so, she let go of Lewis' hand and hugged Pepper side on while still walking. Finally, they reached Biology.<p>

All that lesson she just wrote and wrote, making notes for the exam in June while Tony just watched her and daydreamed, making no notes whatsoever. When the bell rang, everyone packed up and headed out. For Tony, Rhodey and Pepper it was a free period however for Lewis and Kiera, they had Maths. Once outside the classroom, the two girls hugged and Pepper wished her best friend good luck with Kiera's least favourite teacher. When they headed for their maths room, Pepper headed for the roof. 'She's heading the same way, this is my chance to apologise' Tony thought and followed her, keeping his distance. A gang of boys stood in a line, blocking Pepper from moving. Stopping, he decided to watch what happens and see what he can do. They were all her height but very broad.  
>"Well, what have we here?" One of the taller boys stepped forward pushing her back so she was leaned against a locker.<br>"You really don't care, huh?" One of the smaller boys snatched her backpack and moved back, signalling the other boys to move back to. He grabbed an orange, a banana and an apple and threw one to the taller boy.  
>"Let's see if you care about this-" His hand was lifted in the air and he was about to throw when someone grabbed his wrist tight and snatched the orange from him. Letting go, Tony took Pepper's hand and moved forwards.<br>"T-Tony Stark? That's your girl-girlfriend?" The taller one was the exact same height as Tony and he was hesitant when he spoke.  
>"Yes and if you dumbass' had a brain, you'd be smart enough to run, I can have 3 built bodyguard's on your case and you'll also have to deal with me in less than 5 minutes. If you so much as hurt a hair on her head, you'll all end up with broken legs and arms, got it?" His words sent the gang sprinting down the hall as Pepper looked at him with a small smile.<br>"Thank you." Pepper quietly said as she picked up her backpack and started to walk away when she felt Tony take her hand and pull her back.  
>"Pepper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, I...I just...well basically, I, it's just, Iron Man and-" Tony couldn't seem to talk.<br>"Iron Man is a danger to me, i know, i knew that from the start but i stayed...I stayed because i love Tony Stark. I don't care about Iron Man, i mean sure he's awesome but i only care about you." Pepper explained as Tony's hands moved down her sides so that they were placed on her hips and she moved her hands up his shoulders so that her arms were wrapped around his neck.  
>"Really?" Tony asked.<br>"Really." Pepper confirmed.  
>"Well, i just thought-"<br>"Well, don't think-"  
>"Don't think? Okay, i'm not using my brilliant brain-"<br>Pepper grinned and silenced him, her lip gloss rubbing off on Tony's lips.  
>"Mr Stark and Miss Potts" They both broke away and swiftly moved their heads to face the headmaster striding towards them with fury.<br>They both glanced at eachother and then hand in hand, ran towards the entrance to the roof, laughing loudly.

He screamed in rage, not in fright or because he'd been hurt but in anger. He looked up to see that man again, that one with the white cloak and hood with his face painted white and red around the eyes. Iron Man flew forward, grabbed the man by his arm and spun him around and around until he let go and the man went flying. Fortunately for him, he was caught by the sphere he stands on. 'What even is that thing?' Tony thought. When the two of them were face to face, Iron Man spoke up.  
>"Ghost, huh?" Tony scowled. "How does that work, your not an actual ghost" Very soon after the words were spoke, ghost grinned, chuckled and then, dissapeared? Tony shook his head in disbelief and blinked his eyes.<br>"That's not-" He was cut off by his own scream an this time it was pain. A hand was sticking out from Iron Man's stomach. Iron Man gasped in shock.  
>"Oh my-"<br>"Right now, I can pull out my arm with all my strength, taking your organs and circuits with me!" Ghost shouted then laughed evilly as he heard Iron Man scream. Then the hand was gone and a scream filled Tony's ears except it wasn't his own. Looking down, he saw ghost falling down into the city.  
>"Who? JARVIS?" "Sir, it appears there's someone behind you" JARVIS sounded very worried and Tony spun around with his hand up ready to fire. His hand lowered when his eyes took in the man before him, he didn't look threatening. His suit looked stretchy but it stuck to him, so he looked like he was flexible. It was mostly red with blue here and there and then the mask which had two big whiteish eyes and no hole for the mouth. Was this-?<p>

"Hi, I'm Peter Parker"

"Wow, Spiderman hey? How's that then?" Iron Man and Spiderman were standing on the roof of Stark Industries.  
>"Tough" Peter complained "I know how that feels, wait, no one knows your secret identidy, right?" Iron Man questioned.<br>"True"  
>"So, why did you tell me?" Tony was confused.<br>"Figured that I can trust you, being a superhero and all" Spiderman looked out to the city. Just then, Iron Man's helmet flipped open.  
>Peter turned to look and Iron Man held out his hand.<br>"I'm Tony Stark" Tony smiled as Peter removed his mask.  
>"Oh, I know, I'm a big fan of you and your tech" Their hands were still locked together as Tony nodded.<br>"Thanks." Peter wasn't that different to Tony. Brown hair, pretty much styled the same, brown eyes, bushy eyebrows, both 17, and both without parents and both had girlf-wait "So, girlfriend?" Tony asked Peter. Instantly, his eyes went wide and he blushed a bit.  
>"Take that as a yes?" Tony said with a grin and a raised eyebrow. When Peter shook his head, Tony's eyebrows knitted together.<br>"There's this girl...Mary Jane, I like-well...love her, she just doesn't know it." Peter's gaze dropped to the floor and he twiddled his thumbs.  
>"Description of her face?" Tony asked as Peter looked up "Blue eyes, red hair, pale skin" When Tony's jaw dropped, Peter became confused.<br>"What?"  
>"JARVIS, hologram of my phone screensaver." A picture of Pepper and Tony resting their foreheads against each other popped up and floated in mid-air. Peter did the exact same as Tony.<br>"She-What-Similar...Coincidence?" Tony chuckled, flipped his mask down and patted Spiderman on the shoulder.  
>"What's her number?" Tony asked<p>

"Why?"

"I'll get Pep to give her a call and talk with her" Once Tony had the number, he stood up straight, facing the city and glanced at Spiderman.  
>"Thank you, Tony"<p>

"Any time, Pete" And with that, Iron Man went from the roof to the middle of the city.

Pepper Potts was standing at Tony's desk, looking at a hologram of Iron Man. Her finger touched the helmet which made it zoom in so that the mask was clearly visible.  
>"Hmm...umm, change colour to purple and white" The red and gold was removed and replaced with purple and white. As Pepper grinned to herself,<br>she felt two strong arms wrap around her stomach from behind and then a soft kiss was planted on her cheek.  
>"Hey, watcha doing?" Tony walked forward placing a Starbucks in front of Pepper then examining the hologram of blueprints.<br>"Ooh, this is what i need, thank you" Pepper kissed Tony's cheek and walked over to the couch where her school bag was located.  
>"Oh and I'm making blueprints for my suit" Tony almost spat out the coffee he was currently drinking and looked over at Pepper with broadened eyes.<br>"Oh no baby, you are not having your own suit" Pepper jumped up and walked over to him, slamming her cardboard cup next to Tony's "I'm not a dansel in distress" She argued.  
>"Well, I'm not putting you at risk" Tony shot back<p>

"I'm already at risk!" Pepper shouted as Tony glanced at her then bowed his head and shut his eyes, she decided to do the same and eventually,  
>she broke the silence.<br>"I'm going home" When she moved away, Tony grabbed her hand and placed a piece of paper there. After explaining the situation with Peter and Mary Jane, Pepper nodded and smiled then moved towards the doors, zipping up her jacket.  
>"What? No goodbye kiss?" Swiftly, Pepper's head moved around and she flew into his arms and passionately kissed Tony. "Happy?" She asked when she pulled away. Tony squinted his eyes for a moment, like he was thinking and then answered.<br>"Nope" She grinned as his hand found it's way into her hair and pulled her in for another loving kiss.  
>"Now I'm happy" Tony smiled as he watched Pepper's hips sway from side to side as she walked up the stairs.<p>

"Hello?" A calm feminine voice could be heard from the other end of the phone.  
>"Hi, is this um," For a moment, Pepper thought the name would never come to her but to her luck it did.<br>"Mary Jane?" "Er, yeah, do i know-?"  
>"Oh, no, no, but you do now. My name's Pepper"<br>"Okay..." Mary Jane sounded worried "Oh, listen, do you happen to know a Peter Parker?" There was a silence and Pepper knew that MJ would be shocked

"Yeah, i do actually" MJ confirmed

"Oh, good! Do you wanna meet up because i need to tell you something about him" Pepper bit her lip and squeezed one eye shut, expecting a no.  
>"Umm, sure? Where?" 'That was unexpected' Pepper thought as she eased her eye open.<br>"Oh, Central Perk cafe, know that?" "Yeah, when?"  
>"Tomorrow at noon"<br>"Uh-huh and how do i know what you look like?"  
>Pepper smiled. "Just look out for red hair and blue eyes" Once MJ said bye, Pepper dialed in another number.<br>"Peter Parker speaking" Pepper smiled "Hi, I'm Pepper"  
>Silence. "Do you know Tony-"<br>"-Stark, yes, my boyfriend" Pepper finished Peter's sentence for him. "Just, meet me at Central Perk cafe, tommorow at noon, you know you can trust me because you-hopefully-trust Tony"  
>"Alright, see you there" The cell phone made an infinity of beeping noises as Pepper grinned and walked out of her house.<p>

"Okay...Rhodes...Rhodey! Yeah, we're all meeting up for revision tomorrow" Pepper explained as she walked towards the armory doors.  
>"Look, we'll talk later...Bye" Pepper pressed the red button while shaking her head as the doors automatically lifted. With confusion written all over her, she looked around seeing metal, tools, coca cola cans and an empty Starbucks with a half eaten sandwich but no Tony. When she pulled out her cell to call him, she heard a soft and faint groan. Cautiously, Pepper moved her head around the table where the War Machine armor lay. Her eyes didn't want to take in what she saw.<br>"Tony!" Pepper screamed. Tony. Iron Man lay on the ground, black soot covered him drowning out the red and gold while scratches could be made out on his helmet. And within the helmet was a very pale face with blood and cuts plastered in all different parts, his nose, his cheeks,  
>his forehead and even one on his lip. His brown eyes could not be seen as they were shut like he was peacefully sleeping. Pepper knelt beside him while gently lifting the helmet off his head. That done, she repeatedly called out his name. She couldn't even call an ambulance thanks to what he was wearing and where they were.<br>"Tony! Please! Tony!" No sign of movement.  
>"JARVIS, is he breathing?" Pepper hurriedly asked JARVIS "It appears Mr Stark's arc reactor is failing" At the AI's words, tears streamed down her face "Well do something!" Pepper pleaded.<br>"I'm afraid we cannot do anything, Miss Potts. The suit is keeping the last hope of life inside the arc reactor. It is the only hope we have"  
>When JARVIS was done, Pepper positioned herself so that her forehead touched his, she shut her eyes and tried to think back.<p>

"Nice to meet you, Pepper, you can just call me Tony"

"Pep...I like it!"

"Your all i have"

"I love you"

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

She realized she was crying out a river. What if he didn't make it? He's seriously injured. A miracle happened when something grabbed her hand. Something...familiar. Iron Man's hand had a strong grip on Pepper's own, she gasped and grinned as she saw Tony's eyes start to flutter open.  
>"Pepper..." Tony murmured as she heard the arc reactor rebooting, the blue light breaking through the darkness.<p>

**I think by now, you must of guessed i like cliffhangers ;)**  
><strong>Please favouritefollow/review. Thank You :)**


	11. Chapter 10: Couldn't take it

Chapter 10: Couldn't take it:  
><strong>This is literally just Chapter 9 continued, there is no time jump or anything like that. As i always say at the beginning of each chapter, enjoy :)<strong>

The red and gold paint was quickly attacked by soot, covering the whole armor. The building was in flames, at any moment it was going to come down. 'What caused this?' Tony asked himself

"JARVIS, how many?"  
>"Four on level three, sir"<br>Once Tony had the information, Iron Man lowered himself down two levels and heard shouting, voices screaming out for help. There were four people all huddled into one corner and they all looked relieved when they saw Iron Man. When they were all safely outside, JARVIS decided to bring bad news.  
>"Sir, there is one more life form on level 7. My radars just picked it up" JARVIS explained<p>

"Strange.." Tony said under his breath as he took off up towards level 7. He got in through a smashed window, careful not to make the wrong move so that the building won't collapse.  
>"JARVIS, I can't see" Tony complained. When Tony confirmed JARVIS wasn't going to reply, his mask flipped open and he looked around the room. Bad idea, because as soon as that happened, he felt a strong push on his back. He hit the wall resulting in him falling on the floor,<br>pieces of sharp wood falling on his face and stabbing him. Tony scowled as he got up but he only made it onto one knee when the building started to shake from side to side, like an earthquake. Before the mask flipped back over, you could see the fright in Tony's eyes, and then there was darkness...

His chest felt like it was on fire as his eyes slowly started to open. He felt a presence and he knew who it was so he took her hand for reassurance. Feeling something wet trickle down his face, he questioned if he was crying but then he realized he had been unconscious for a while now.

"Pepper..." He knew it was her, this was what he didn't want: her crying over him. Then, as his eyes started to flutter open, he realized he couldn't of awoken to a better image. Pepper was grinning, her hair almost touching his cheeks, her blue eyes were duller but still lively. But the tears. She was crying.  
>"JARVIS, can we take the suit off?" Pepper asked with hope.<br>"Indeed we can, Miss Potts but it seems Mr Stark is in a bad state to do so-" JARVIS started

"I'll-" Tony's eyes were half open, he was trying to speak but he felt like the breath had been driven out of his body.  
>"Fine-"At that, his eye lids shut and the last sight he got was of Pepper's grin fading, her eyes widening.<p>

War Machine pushed through the traffic of white clouds, his armor almost hiding within them. Rhodey was called by Pepper and told the situation. After that, he rushed over, check on Tony and did Iron Man's job for him: scouting the area for trouble.  
>"Pepper?" Rhodes called out to see if she was still there "Pepper?" His voice grew louder<p>

"Miss Potts is currently unreachable as she is attending Mr. Stark's ingury's" JARVIS replied insted of Pepper. Rhodes sighed and sped off towards the active robbery taking place

Pepper Potts did not know much about nursing but she did want to help clean up the blood and cuts on Tony's face. Gently, she dabbed a wet, white cloth, replacing the white with red. After a couple of minutes of cleaning up the wounds on his face, she decided to check his chest and stomach. Surprisingly, there were no bruises.  
>"JARVIS, do a scan of Tony's upper half" Pepper commanded. A hologram of the outline of a male body appeared and zoomed in on the chest,<br>moving down until it stopped at his stomach. Nothing.  
>"The back" Her hopes were drowned as she saw one big circle on his back.<br>"That's a bruise, correct?"  
>"Correct, Miss Potts" JARVIS confirmed as Pepper bowed her head.<br>"How...?" She thought but said at the same time.

"Mr Stark was hit hard on his back by a big piece of the upper building resulting in him falling and being buried until I took over as remote control when Mr Stark went unconscious" This wasn't what Pepper wanted to be hearing. Her head whipped up, looking at Tony.

"What happened, JARVIS?" When Pepper expected a reply from JARVIS, she got one from her boyfriend.  
>"Long story" Tony said under his breath with his eyes closed.<br>"Hey" Pepper said softly

"How are you feeling?" Tony opened his eyes sightly so he could see her

"Dead" Tony moaned as he tried to sit up which resulted in him crying out in agony and Pepper put a hand on his arc reactor and one on the back of his neck, gently pushing him back to his original position.  
>"You have a massive bruise on your upper back," Pepper started as Tony shut his eyes "You're gonna need rest for a while" She told him<p>

"No, I need to- Iron Man- and upgrade-" He hissed in pain as he tried to sit up again which failed and he went back to lying down.  
>"War Machine is playing as Iron Man at the moment, so don't worry" She reassured Tony.<br>"I'm so..." Tony's eyes were closing and Pepper leaned in closer to his ear

"So lucky to have you..." He trailed off and fell asleep when Pepper grinned and kissed his temple. Then, she fell asleep in her chair with Tony's hand in her's.

"Get into a fight with Iron Man then once he cowards away, follow him and see where you end up" Stane commanded. Five men dressed in black stood around him.  
>"Sir, may i respectfully make a suggestion?" An agent asked as Stane groaned "Granted"<br>"Shouldn't we just spy on him?" The man asked with caution as the others nodded their heads in agreement. Stane, finally, nodded his head too.  
>"Yes...Yes, good, have robots, cameras and men plotted around the city" He walked over to the window and saw War Machine flying past<p>

"Fire ghost, we need someone much more powerful than him" As the last words escaped his mouth, gasps echoed the room as Stane turned and saw a man standing there in a tight red and black suit which covered all of his body except from his face. The mask was unusual, it looked very similar to a gas mask except the eyes were smaller and glowing red. On his feet, were two red and black boots, the same color as his suit.

"That can be arranged" A dark voice came from the mask as two square shaped, red whips appeared from his wrists.

Mary Jane sat on a table for two, her eyes looking around, desperate for them to land on another red-haired girl. She was wearing a pink skater dress which went to just above her knees with a bow tied at her waist. Just as she was about to leave, her eyes landed on someone she wasn't expecting to see. A tall, attractive boy with brown hair and eyes stood in the doorway. He was wearing skinny jeans and a plain dark blue top. Peter looked around to find MJ instead of Pepper.  
>"Peter?" She gasped as she smiled, welcoming him. Peter walked over and stood by the chair opposite MJ's.<br>"Mary? What are you doing here? Not to be rude or anything..." Peter's gaze dropped when he thought he messed up with his words again but to his surprise, MJ giggled. One thing he didn't know was that she found this cute.  
>"I'm meeting...a new friend. Pepper" Mj exclaimed. She knew Peter must of known this girl because his jaw dropped<p>

"Pepper called me last night saying to meet here" MJ's eyes broadened with realisation.  
>"So, she didn't show up because..." It suddenly hit Peter.<br>"Because she wanted to get us alone" He finished her sentence as his eyes locked with her's. For a while, both of them felt uncomfortable as there was an awkward silence. After some time, Peter smiled and stood up.  
>"Can i get you get a drink?" He asked politely. MJ nodded and grinned<p>

"Please" Peter nodded and walked away to get them two hot chocolate's. He stopped in his tracks when he heard something heavy fall and hit the ground, the noise echoing the block. Everyone started to run out through the front and scream while MJ just rushed over to Peter who was startled. He had to change into his suit.  
>"Peter!" He didn't know she was screaming his name and he snapped back to reality.<br>"Out through the back!" He shouted and leaded her to the back door's.  
>"But everyone else went through the front, it would be quicker!" Mary protested as Peter didn't stop pulling her towards the back exit.<br>"It's too risky" Peter simply stated.  
>"Why?" MJ raised her voice. Peter spun around to face MJ and placed his hands on her arms<p>

"I can't risk you being hurt!" He snapped as MJ stood speechless.

Red flashing lights filled the armory which awoke Pepper and Tony from their sleep. They were both alarmed at the lights and Pepper quickly stood up while Tony propped himself up, leaning on his elbow even though it hurt.

"Sir, it appears War Machine's armor is compromised" JARVIS informed Tony with a hologram of Rhodey's sight right now. The man who was at Stane's office was incfront of Rhodes, two whips were tangled around War Machine's neck, warning signs flashing everywhere. Tony was too busy to realize where Pepper went and when he did realize, he almost fell off the desk. Iron Man was walking towards Tony, except he knew it wasn't a man. The mask flipped up and showed Pepper smiling at Tony.

"Pepper, get out of there! Right now!" Tony commanded. In response, Pepper leaned down and passionately kissed him. Once they were both breatheless, Pepper pulled away.  
>"I love you" Before Tony could respond, Pepper took off for the sky...<p>

"Easy enough to fly...I could get used to this!" Pepper said excitedly.

"Miss Potts, Mr Rhodes' power is dropping below 10%" JARVIS informed Pepper

"What?!" Iron Man almost crashed into a building at JARVIS' words "War Machine's power is-"  
>"I know, JARVIS" Pepper huffed.<p>

Rhodes' scream was loud enough to wake the dead, the armor was going to fail at any moment, the whips draining the power and cutting through the metal. Many times, War Machine had attempted to raise his hand but it always failed. As his last light of hope was dying, the whips were detached from his neck and the man went flying until he hit a building. Iron Man stood in front of him offering a hand.  
>"Tony! You should be back at the armory!" Rhodes said through his earpiece. Iron Man shook his head as Rhodes accepted his hand and was pulled up.<br>"Tony is back at the armory" Rhodes almost lost his balance

"Pepper?!" He shouted in shock

"Sssh!" Pepper hissed "Keep your voice down!" She said, annoyed.  
>"Right, um, where did he go and how?"<br>"I booted him and he's currently lying on the floor over there," Iron Man's finger signaled Rhodey to look in the direction she was pointing.  
>"Re-gaining his strength" Pepper commented. Rhodes nodded<p>

"He needs a name" Pepper chuckled and then there was silence while they thought.  
>"How about...Whiplash?" Pepper asked<p>

"Whiplash...Whiplash. Yeah, sounds like an enemy" Iron Man nods and starts to walk to where Whiplash is. His suit was ripped at parts,  
>revealing a bare, tanned complexion. Whiplash looked up and saw Iron Man and War Machine striding towards him. With a click of a button,<br>a red and black motorbike parked by his side and Whiplash wasted no time in climbing onto it and racing off. When War Machine was ready to take off, Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder.  
>"Stop. You only have 10% power left and I have to get back to take care of Tony" Rhodey relaxed his muscles and let the blue lights in his hands dim.<br>"Alright, yeah, you're right" Rhodes agreed and they both headed for the armory.

When they were almost at the armory, Rhodes split off and headed another way but Pepper kept going

"Where are you going?" Pepper asked

"My mom, you know how she is. Just look after him, he needs and wants you more than anything, Pepper" She couldn't help but grin at his words.

When she was out of the armor she rushed over to Tony who had one hand leaning on the wall and one of his arc reactor which was losing color.  
>"Tony!" She called. Instantly, he lifted his head to the sound of her voice. Putting his arm around her, she kissed his cheek and lead him towards his so called 'bed' which was literally Tony's desk so he could work on armors with a pillow. As she tried to lay him down so he could rest, he shrugged her off and shut his eyes tight, his knees giving in and he fell to the ground. Quickly, Pepper knelt beside him.<br>"Tony, what's wrong?" His worried brown eyes met her concerned blue ones.  
>"Don't do that to me, Pepper" He softly said, bowing his head.<br>"Do what?"

"That!" Tony snapped and pointed to Iron Man. Pepper's eyes widened.  
>"I've never been so worried in my life! My arc reactor started to fail! I thought you couldn't take it! That you would crash into a building or that monster would hurt you and that i would never see you again and i couldn't take it!" Tony shouted.<br>"What was i supposed to do?" Pepper shouted back, her eyes losing it's happiness and being replaced with rage as she stood up.  
>"Let Rhodey die?! No! I'm not a dansel in distress! And you can't treat me like this!" Tony got to his feet with struggle. With tears welling up her eyes, she said her last words to him.<br>"I'm not yours to lose" His eyes started to sting and his chest started to burn. She turned on her heels and headed for the door, Tony was speechless, he was motionless. She got one last look at him. Tony had tears in his gorgeous brown eyes and he was looking at her with his jaw dropped. She was the same. By now, tears were trickling down her cheeks.  
>"You only think of yourself. 'I couldn't take it'" She repeated after Tony. With a lump in her throat and her bottom lip starting to tremble,<br>she said to him in a soft voice.  
>"Goodbye, Tony Stark" She walked up the stairs with her head in her hands, letting the tears flood the floors while Tony's arc reactor started to flicker. And then, he felt himself falling inside the black<p>

**So, it wasn't that much of a fight but here, Pepper has been feeling like she's locked up in a cage and like she cant do anything, thats why she broke up with him. Let me know what you think? Please? I'd love to hear some opinions :) Favourite/Follow/Review, Thanks for reading :)**


	12. Chapter 11: Popular Song

Chapter 11: Popular Song:  
><strong>Hi! If you haven't heard the song that will be mentioned later and want to know what it sounds like, it's called:Popular Song: Ariana Grande&amp;MIKA.<strong>  
><strong>I OWN NONE OF THE CHARACTERS OR SONGS!<strong>  
><strong>Enjoy<strong>

It had been a month since Pepper and Tony had broke up and she avoided him at all costs, still, she couldn't help but sneer at all the girls who flirted with Tony but he had eyes for one and only one. Life had gone back to usual, the bullying and the loneliness except she had Rhodes, MJ and Kiera there sometimes...mostly Kiera. One day, Pepper was out shopping with Kiera, both of them laughing at the jokes they made and the stories they told in the past. They kept pranking Pepper's brother, Liam and people turned to angrily glare at them. They had been to Starbucks and were walking out, talking about where they were going next. But when Pepper stepped out, she saw him. Tony. He had sunglasses on and a tank top, he looked extremely attractive but Pepper shrugged it off. Tony was walking out of the station, phone in hand, and his grin drawing many teenage girls attention.  
>"Come on, Pep" Kiera placed a hand on Pepper's back and pushed her forward when suddenly, someone grabbed her hand and pulled her back.<br>Kiera spun around to see Tony and she couldn't help but feel very attracted to him but she didn't like him at all besides she had Lewis and that's all she wanted.

"Can we talk?" Kiera raised an eyebrow and reluctantly nodded then headed towards Pepper, a very impatient Pepper.  
>"He wants to talk, meet me in Forever 21 okay?" Pepper rolled her eyes and spun around heading for the crossing. Once Pepper was out of sight, they began talking.<br>"You know, Tony, you really are a selfish twat" Tony looked up with hurt eyes but then he nodded his head.  
>"I know and I need you to tell her this: I love her and I will never stop loving her but she's in danger" Tony warned. Kiera's bluey-greeny eyes met Tony's own chocolate brown ones.<br>"Danger?" Kiera repeated after him

"She'll know what I mean" There was silence then as people pushed past the two teenagers. Tony felt like he could talk to Kiera about Pepper and he trusted her but not enough so that she could know about Iron Man. Kiera was wearing shorts with tights and knee high converse, a Harry Potter top on with a boy with fair red hair on and of course her beanie even though it was summer.  
>"I'll let her know" Kiera mumbled.<br>"Thanks"

"Yeah, dont get used to it"  
>"I know"<br>Kiera smiled and turned.  
>"See ya round, rich boy" Kiera called over her shoulder and headed for Forever 21.<p>

'Danger' Kiera's words moved around Pepper's head and she was trying to figure out what danger. I mean, she wasn't a target anymore,she wasn't Iron Man's girlfriend. Pepper was sitting cross-legged on her bed with her head in her hands. 'Never stop loving her'  
>Eventually, she gave up and decided to read one of her favorite books: The Spook's: Apprentice. Shortly after, she was interrupted by her phone ringing. She saw it was MJ so she decided to pick up<p>

"Hello?"  
>"Pep? Hey, I really need to thank you" Pepper was confused when MJ spoke<p>

"How come?"  
>"Peter just fought off five guys because they were hitting on me!" Pepper was still confused.<br>"Why do you need to thank me?"  
>"Because, if you never got me and him together, i wouldn't be as happy as i am now" Mary explained<p>

"Okay. One: You thanked me a month ago for that and Two: You're happy because he beat up five guys?"

"One: Still need to thank you much more. Two:No, just happy that I'm with him" MJ replied

"Remind me what happened a month ago" The two girls laughed as MJ started the story...

"I can't risk you being hurt!" He snapped which left MJ was speechless. She couldn't help what happened next, it just came naturally to her.  
>Jumping into Peter's arms, she lovingly kissed him and they could both feel the connection as soon as their lips touched.<br>When she pulled away, Peter was stunned,  
>"I won't be hurt when I'm around you, Peter" He smiled and went into kiss her again when Iron Man landed outside, helping War Machine up.<br>"I think that's our cue to go" Peter grabbed MJ's hand and pulled her towards the back doors. She still couldn't believe what was happening, she's loved Peter for a year now and never thought he would allow her to kiss him...ever. But now here they were, hand in hand, running from an attack.

A piece of paper was pinned up on Pepper's form notice board.  
><em>TALENT SHOW, THURSDAY, 6:00PM<em>

Pepper could sing, she could sing well. When she was 11 she joined choir and was way better than all the rest. At that moment, she really wanted to sing a song aimed at Tony but then she heard the guys who bully her walk past. And then, she decided.

Everyone started to pile into the hall including Tony and Rhodes. They all looked happy and like they wanted to party. Once a couple of DJ's and guitarists had been on and everyone danced except from Rhodes and Tony who were standing with their backs resting against the wall. When the first two singers had been up, everyone had calmed down.  
>"Anyone good?" Tony complained. Rhodes grinned from ear to ear when music filled the place while Tony looked confused but not for long when he heard heels walking onto the stage. Black wedges with a flower on, her legs bare until it reached her denim skirt and a blue frilly top. Her face was pale and her eyes were ocean blue going well with her curled strawberry curls. Tony was nudged by Rhodes when he realized his jaw was dropped until it almost met the arc reactor.<p>

Walking with confidence, she started the song and got the crowd going crazy.  
><em>"You were the popular one, the popular chic. It is what it is now I'm popular-ish"<em> Her eyes landed on the group of boys huddled in the corner, their eyes filled with amazement and shock.  
><em>"Standing on the field with your pretty pom pom, now you're working at the movies selling popular corn"<em> Her voice was like that of an angels and that when she noticed him.  
><em>"I could've been a mess but i never went wrong cause I'm putting down my story in a popular song"<em> Her eyes locked with Tony's and couldn't help but let out a giggle when she saw his reaction

"_I said I'm putting down my story in a popular song._  
><em>My problem: I never was a model, I never was a scholar, but you were always popular.<em>  
><em>You were singing all the songs i don't know, now you're in the front row"<em> Pepper pointed at the bullies and waved sarcastically.  
><em>"Cause my song is popular Popular, I know about popular. It's not about who you are-"<em> She quickly turned her head to look at Tony _"Or you're fancy car"_ Tony grinned at her voice when those last lyrics were aimed at him because of his money.  
><em>"Your only ever who you were"<em>  
>She sang the rest of the chorus and went on to the verse. This was her favorite part and suddenly, all her fears had gone and she wasn't afraid anymore.<br>_"Always on the look out for someone to hate"_ She jumped off the stage, walked around the crowd of people until she reached the bullies.  
>She stood in front of them, the heels making her a bit taller.<br>_"Picking on me like a dinner plate You hid during classes and in between them, dunk me in the toilets now it's you who cleans them"_ She poked the main guy when she sang the word 'you'  
>"<em>You tried to make me feel bad with the things you do.<em>  
><em>It ain't so funny when the jokes on you."<em> Pepper moved her head closer to the leader, their noses almost touching

_"Ooh, the jokes on you. Got everyone laughing, got everyone clapping"_ At this everyone cheered and she walked up on stage again seeing that the boys had left which made her grin. After the next chorus, the song ended and everyone went crazy, clapping, whistling, cheering and screaming.

"She looks so sexy" Tony complimented while drooling, Rhodes quickly turned around and met eyes with Tony when he realized he said that out loud while Pepper was singing.  
>It was then he remembered how much he misses her and his chest started to ache really bad. As soon as the pain started, he dug his nails into Rhodey's arm and then ran outside, starting to speak to JARVIS through his earpiece with Rhodes on his tail.<br>"JARVIS, the suit now" Tony commanded. After about two minutes, the suit came flying and attached itself to Tony, making sure no one saw him. He told Rhodey that he needed to get away from the hall, Rhodes understood and blue lights were coming from Iron Man's boots which carried him to a roof of a very tall building. His knees collapsed and JARVIS noticed.  
>"Sir, are you alright?"<br>"Arc-arc-Pepper" In the end, Tony screamed in annoyance.  
>"Sir, your arc reactor is losing power" JARVIS informed Tony.<br>"How much?"  
>"The power is currently at 15% and falling. I would recommend not getting stressed, Sir"<br>"Easier said than done" He complained.  
>The one thing Tony didn't need now was his enemies but his needs weren't fulfilled as Whiplash sped past. Tony knew what happened with Pepper and him, Rhodes had gave him a detailed description. But if he wasn't taking any notice of Tony then...<br>"Oh shit" Iron Man stood straight and took off, his speed increasing to 200mph.  
>"Sir!" JARVIS said loudly "The armor is at 24% and your arc reactor is still at 15%. This is not the best idea"<br>"Mute" Sure, he felt like that was a good idea at the time but muting JARVIS will come back and bite him in the ass later on.  
>Eventually, he reached the hall and he could make out a hole in the ceiling which he figured was Whiplash. Inside, screams were starting to fill the air and he knew everyone had seen Whiplash. Iron Man dived in and hit the ground with a punch down. When he looked up, every person in the room screamed and cheered for him except from Rhodes and Pepper who were standing close with their eyes widened in worry and fear.<br>Whiplash laid his eyes on the threat and saw that Iron Man was looking directly at the girl with bright hair.  
>"So, she's important?" Whiplash questioned as he pulled Pepper to him while she let out a gasp.<br>"Let her go!" Tony screamed while taking a step forward but stopped when a red, rectangular, glowing whip unfolded from his wrists as he lifted it towards Pepper's vulnerable neck, she gulped nervously.  
>"Iron Man..." She said softly,her voice a whisper, blue eyes looking into the glowing ones.<br>"Go..." Tony wasn't obeying her, no matter what, he was not leaving her. Iron Man stood his ground. Bad idea because as soon as he did, four pieces of the whip detached and flew towards Iron Man. They were too quick and they stuck to him like a leech. When Pepper realized what they were once they started ticking, she escaped Whiplash's grip and ran towards Iron Man while everyone else fled the room.  
>"NO!" She screamed and wrapped her arms around Iron Man. Just when Tony was going to push her off because of the bombs, they detonated, splitting the two apart. The sound of her hitting the wall was horrible,it was a very loud thud. Blood poured out of her nose while she lay on the floor, motionless, with her eyes closed.<p>

**This Chapter is shorter than the rest but I wanted to leave it on a cliffhanger soo...**  
><strong>ReviewFollow/Favourite please. Any one of them would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 12: Break Up, Make Up

Chapter 12:Break Up, Make up:

_I think this is officially the longest chapter ever existed, i just didn't realize it when i was writing it on my notepad on my laptop. So, my apologies and i hope none of you fall asleep while reading this ;)_  
><em>I don't have the best writing skills and i seem to use the same words a lot but im just saying the scene that plays in my head. I don't really know if you guys think this has a plot but i kinda see it. All these enemies are linked with Stane and Stane is hiring them because he desperately wants the armor specsblueprints because he doesn't like the thought that someone has better tech/weapons than him, seeing has he has the biggest weapons company in the world._  
><em>Anyway, thanks for reading and i hope you enjoy! :)<em>

The only people left in the room were Iron Man and Pepper, both not moving. Iron Man lay on his back with no lights coming from anywhere, not his eyes nor his arc reactor. A couple of minutes passed before Tony opened his eyes and heard Iron Man rebooting, the eyes and arc reactor coming alive. Once he knew nothing was broken, he lifted himself up and heard JARVIS alerting Tony of the suit's power.  
>"Welcome to the Iron Man Armor Mark 2.0. Thruster Power at 12%, Arc Reactor stabability is low and weapon systems are ready, Repulsors at 13%" JARVIS finally spoke up. Tony still wasn't completely awake and that's why he didn't realise the figure sprawled out on the floor earlier.<p>

"Oh my god" Tony whispered as he ran over to Pepper. By now, the blood coming from her noise had dried and unfortuanately, Tony couldn't see her chest moving up and down...which only meant one thing. Iron Man sat on the floor and cradled Pepper, her head tipped back. Tony lifted her head and opened his mask.  
>"JARVIS, is she breathing?"<p>

"I'm afrad Miss Potts' heart is beating unusually slow, there is only a matter of minutes before she-" JARVIS couldn't finish his sentence as Tony butt in.  
>"Call an ambulance now" Tony ordered.<br>"Pepper?" Tears started to built in his eyes as he saw her eyes starting to open slightly. When she caught sight of him, a small, sad smile appeared on her face.  
>"Tony..." Pepper croaked. Tony grinned when she laced her fingers with his. Tony Stark wasn't one for crying, and the only times he was caught crying, it was about Pepper. He let out a sob before placing a kiss on her cheek.<br>"Pepper, I'm so sorry. Your not a dansel in distress, your strong, you proved it then"  
>"I love you, Tony. And if i thought i was going to make this, i would be yours forever but i don't feel like i am..." Pepper's voice trailed off and became quieter as her eyes slowly shut.<p>

"Sir, Miss Potts' heartbeat is slowing down dramatically" JARVIS hurriedly said. Instantly, Tony began to panic and his eyes couldn't take any more tears so they rolled down his cheek and landed on her own cheeks.  
>"Pepper, please. Stay with me" Tony pleaded as he heard sirens coming closer.<br>"I love you" His tears wiped away any dry blood which stained her pretty face. When he heard people rushing in, the mask automatically flipped down and no one could see him weep as the medics took her away, placing his one true love in an ambulance.

After Pepper had been rushed to hospital, Iron Man and War Machine followed. Now, Tony and Rhodey sat in the waiting room, dreading the worst answer and it didn't help when someone stood infront of him, especially someone he hates.  
>"Stark" The boy had a grin on his face.<br>"You're little girlfriend had an accident? Funny isn't it?" Pepper's bully walked towards Tony who was now standing with his fist clenched.  
>"How sad you are. You got your sorry ass dumped by some bitch-" He couldn't carry on as Tony punched his jaw, getting everyone's attention,<br>including Rhodey.  
>"Tony, don't! Not here!" Rhodes placed a hand on Tony's shoulder only to have it removed by Tony walking towards the bully.<br>"He won't get away with it! He won't get away with insulting her!" The bully was a bulky guy and was probably a bit stronger than Tony but Tony was faster and had a quick reaction, also a short temper. When he went for another punch, he was kicked where boys never want to be kicked. Tony stumbled backwards, crouching over and saw Rhodey talking with a doctor then the doctor came over and put his hand on the bully's shoulder motioning him to exit the building.

"This isn't over, Stark" He growled as he walked past. Tony was sitting in his chair now with eyes wide with pain at where he'd been kicked.  
>"That's the good thing about the armor," Tony started and Rhodes looked at him.<br>"You can be kicked there and not feel it" Rhodes laughed.  
>"Yeah, different in real life isn't it, Tony?" For some reason, Tony felt as if Rhodes was pissed at him but didn't bring it up.<p>

"No, Pepper, seriously, I am just not going in there" Tony said with simple arrogance resulting in Pepper pouting.

"I just need a flower crown!" She protested. When Tony rolled his eyes and sighed, she knew she had won.  
>"Fine, forbidden planet after this though!" This resulted in an eager kiss from Pepper and just when he started to get into it, she pulled away and dragged him by his hand to the accessory store. After trying on very colorful hair accessories, she decided to buy a pink and cream flower crown. Pepper huffed when Tony took forever flicking through comic books and bought twenty in the end. They decided they wanted starbucks and Pepper offered to go in and buy them while he waits outside seeing as there were many people inside and Tony Stark is not good with people. She went in with ten pounds from Tony while he leaned on a wall, looking more sexy than ever. The wind had irritated his hair and now brown strands stuck up, making him look adorable. Many girls double looked him and made eye contact, looking into his dreamy brown eyes. One girl was brave enough to walk up to him and that's when he realized who it was. The girl had blonde hair, green eyes and a tanned complexion. She was wearing short shorts and a crop top. 'Still a slut' Tony smiled to himself.<br>"Tony" His eyes met hers and he could tell she still wanted him back.  
>"Whitney" Tony growled and looked away. 'C'mon, Pep. Hurry up' He thought<p>

"Wanna grab a coffee?" Her hand started to rub his arm and she looked at him with a wicked grin. Tony shrugged his arm to tell her to stop.  
>"Someone is getting me one"<br>"Someone?"  
>"Yeah, as in my girlfriend" At this, Whiteney's mood changed<p>

"Girlfriend? Who?" As always, Pepper had perfect timing and walked out, not even noticing another girl there. She handed Tony his cup and started talking, while looking at her phone.  
>"So, do you want to go anywhere else or do you wanna catch the train and we can head back to mi-" It was now that Pepper saw the pretty blonde standing a little too close to Tony.<br>"Oh, hi" Pepper smiled and tried to sound as casual as possible and then turned to Tony with hurt in her eyes. When Tony noticed it, he put his hand on her arm to reassure her.  
>"Baby, this is Whitney, my ex" Tony's eyes met Pepper's.<br>"Oh..."  
>"Whitney, this is my girlfriend, Pepper" He pulled her into him. Whitney threw a smug smile at Pepper and looked at Tony with anger.<br>"Well, don't get too attached Pepper" She spat her name "Tony doesn't know what he wants" At this, Pepper bowed her head as Whitney walked off. Tony stood in front of her and looked into her eyes.  
>"Ignore her"<br>"So, do you know what you want?" She took a step back from Tony. "Or do you prefer blondes?" Her eyes were filled with sadness but anger too. Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her, not too hard, so that she rested her hands on his chest, on the outlines of his arc reactor.  
>Before she could move, he lovingly kissed her, waiting for a reply and eventually she did, they passionately kissed for a couple of minutes before he pulled away and lifted an eyebrow.<br>"That about explain it?" Pepper grinned and pulled him towards the train station.

He so desperately wanted to return to his flashback, see her face, see her so happy, for her to be his. Rhodes had his eyes closed and announced that he was going to patrol and let Tony wait for Pepper. An hour passed before a doctor came out asking for Tony.  
>"Mr Stark?" He called out. Right away, Tony stood up and ran towards the doctor.<br>"Miss Potts is alright, we managed to save her but she did take a bad hit to the head and will be experiencing violent migraines" Tony nodded and smiled because he knew she was still alive and breathing.  
>"But it's strange, when she was sleeping she seemed to be calling for Iron Man and then you" The doctor must of saw Tony's expression and became suspicious.<br>"Do you know anything, Mr Stark?" Tony wanted to get off the subject asap

"Umm, did she want to see me?" He squeezed past the doctor while he eyed Tony very carefully. His eyes landed on her, she was still in her outfit from singing, the denim skirt and the blue top. Carefully, Tony sat by her trying to make no noise as she was out like a log.

From the sound of his voice she wanted to open her eyes, but on the other hand she didn't want him to see her like this, her face and hair in a state. When he sat beside her, he gently slid his hand underneath her own.  
>"I'm not a, uh, i mean well, i do but i don't like the mushy stuff, with you, i mean i like it with you, um, you know what im gonna get straight to the point" Pepper smiled. He couldn't see her face and he thought she couldn't hear him.<br>"I'm...I'm in love with you, Pepper. Iron Man, he is, um, well-"  
>"Your other half" Tony grinned like a kid on Christmas day when he saw her beautiful face again. How he had missed her.<br>"Did you just hear all that?" Pepper chuckled and nodded.  
>"Wow" Tony lifted his eyebrows<p>

"Well, yeah, he is...You were calling for him?" Pepper smiled and closed her eyes.  
>"I called for Iron Man, sure, but i was specifically calling for the guy who is Iron Man" Blue met brown and she earned a smile from him.<br>"I fell in love with Tony Stark..." By now, Tony couldn't take his eyes off her.  
>"Not Iron Man" He frowned a bit at this. Did this mean she didn't like Iron Man? 'Radioactive-Imagine Dragons' played aloud into the room,<br>breaking the silence. Pepper's phone was moving slightly because of it vibrating meaning someone was calling her.  
>"Beyonce to Imagine Dragons?" Tony chuckled.<br>"People change" That's when Tony remembered...they still weren't a couple but he had missed her, so, so much.  
>"Hello?...A hospital" Pepper squeezed one eye shut and said the last word like she was asking a question. The reply must have been loud because Pepper jumped, a pain started to grow in her head.<br>"Kiera...An accident...Yeah...No!...Maybe...Look, I've gotta go...No, i really hav-...Speak soon!" She pressed the red button and used her fingers to massage her head. Tony noticed.  
>"Are you okay?" He asked, sitting up from his slouched position.<br>"Yeah, just...hurting i guess?" She answered, still rubbing her forehead.  
>"I just want to say I'm sorry, this was Iron Man's fault..." Pepper opened her eyes and stopped rubbing her forehead as Tony stood up.<br>"My fault..." He started to take a step towards the door when he felt a soft, small hand slide into his. Straight away, Tony spun around as Pepper let go and held out her hand while smiling, leaving Tony confused.  
>"Hi, I'm Virginia Potts, but you can just call me Pepper" Tony realized what Pepper was doing and took her hand, gently shaking it.<br>"Hey, I'm Anthony Stark but you can call me Tony." Pepper giggled as Tony put on a serious face.  
>"Miss Potts, would you give me the pleasure of a date tomorrow night?" 'Please say yes, please say yes' Tony pleaded in his head. Pepper was silent for a moment due to thinking.<br>"That would be nice, Mr Stark" Tony grinned and kissed her hand, making the most of this moment. Shooting a loving smile at her, he turned on his heel and walked towards the exit.

It felt like the lesson was eternal, his eyes were locked to the clock and he was counting the minutes to tonight. Finally, he decided to do at least a page of work and put his pen to the paper. All the answers were simple to him and when he saw Pepper struggling, he reached forward and tapped her on the back. Almost instantly, Pepper turned around and looked curious. Tony picked up his book and handed it to Pepper. She willingly took it and smiled to say thanks. While she copied the answers from his book, she noticed how nice his handwriting was. It was in black ink, very readable and clear, not too big and not to small and it was sort of slanted. Just when she was going to hand it back, a piece of paper stuffed in the back of the book caught her attention. She couldn't help but smile at what was drawn here. Tony had been using his pages to draw Iron Man and notes on how to improve his arc reactor power and flight power. Just when she was going to look through his pages the teacher announced he had to go to get some more text books. When the door closed, everyone started chatting and Pepper turned around to see Tony with his head buried in his arms which were resting on the desk. Pepper grinned and poked Tony's head. After calling his name two or three times, Tony sat up with an annoyed look on his face.

"Sorry to disturb but...seriously?" Pepper handed Tony the papers with a raised eyebrow. He just looked at the Iron Man armors and his head hit the table earing giggles, whispers and stares from a couple of girls in the class. The teacher returned but by then it was a minute to the bell so he told them all to leave. Pepper quickly packed her things and rushed out the classroom, her hand cradling her head. Right now, she just didn't want to see anyone but Rhodes called out for her. Her head slowly moved so she could see Rhodey running with Kiera fast walking behind. Kiera was the only one to cheer Pepper up when she was down (except from maybe Tony) and this is what was happening now. Kiera walked up to Pepper and Rhodey with an angry expression as she looked down at the ground, which made her black eyeliner clearly visible.  
>"Don't tell me you've had a shit day too?" Kiera looked up at Pepper and smiled.<br>"No, but your friend here-" Kiera pointed to Rhodes "dragged me by the wrist because her saw you, away from Lewis and i was supposed to be walking with him and having dinner with him but now i can't" The last word was almost shouted and Pepper placed both her hands on both of Kiera's arms.  
>"There'll be other times, okay?" Reluctantly, Kiera nodded with a frown and walked ahead of them while Rhodey and Pepper talked.<br>"So, you have a date?" Rhodes grinned as Pepper rolled her eyes.  
>"Yes, but I'm not going" At this, Rhodes stopped and stared at her and then waved his hand and walked on.<br>"Why not?"  
>"He won't be able to keep his eyes open" Pepper commented<p>

"Oh c'mon, it's To-"  
>"No Rhodey!" Pepper shouted and ran after Kiera leaving a very stunned Rhodes.<p>

Ever since he asked her out again, he felt like she was more caring, more...protective. But his hopes were fading as she was supposed to be at the armory 5 minutes ago and Pepper was never late. In the end, Tony got more curious and suited up to go to Pepper's but was stopped when a voice called out behind him.  
>"That'd be useless" Iron Man spun around and saw Pepper in a red and black dress. It would've been strapless red but a black net material covered above her chest up to her neck. It stopped halfway between her thighs and knees and swayed from side to side when she walked. She had cream colored one inch heels on and it made Tony smile when he heard them. The mask flipped open and he shot Pepper a confused look.<p>

"Thought you weren't coming" Iron Man crossed his arms and frowned while Pepper walked towards him, giggling.  
>"I'm not you, Tony. I wasn't going to come here" She found herself wrapping her left arm around Iron Man's neck as he pulled a face.<br>"Why not?" He demanded to know

"Because I knew that you would be too tired but I came to see if my instincts were wrong and they were" Tony grinned and his hand found her hip.  
>"Too damn right they were!" Pepper smiled widely and then looked suspicious.<br>"Oh, why is our date in the armory?" Pepper asked, raising her eyebrows, Tony shot her a cheeky grin.  
>"Well, there's a table over there and I thought we could-" He wiggled his eyebrows and tightened his grip on Pepper, moving his head closer to hers "Tony!" Her eyes were closed and she was leaning away from him. "No"<br>Tony responded with a grin.  
>"Joking of course" Iron Man's helmet flipped down over his face and Pepper screeched when he started hovering.<br>"Keep a tight grip on me" Tony warned, his voice suddenly very deep and scary because of the voice camouflage. Iron Man shot off heading for the night sky dotted with bright stars while Pepper shut her eyes tight and eventually opened them, by now she was used to flying.  
>Her strawberry blonde hair and her dress swayed to the side whenever Tony swerved violently.<br>"Calm down please!" Pepper complained and smiled at Iron Man looking down at her.  
>"Blame the buildings being so close together" Pepper still couldn't believe that Iron Man, the one who kicks ass every day,who is ,right now,<br>is carrying more than a couple of missiles and lasers, has a soft side. That these strong arms used to punch and hurt can hold a fragile person such as Pepper. In the distance, if she squinted her eyes, she could make out a hill with a blanket and small lights placed on top. Pepper gasped which caught Tony's attention, he smiled underneath his HUD and increased the speed.

_Thanks for reading. If you liked, please follow/favorite/review. Greatly appreciated. Thank you! :)_


	14. Chapter 13: Rescue

Chapter 13: Rescue:  
>The stars and the half moon lit up the night sky, making it look so peaceful but it wasn't peaceful. Tony could never rest due to the enemys he had out there waiting for Iron Man to make his next move so they could attack. Currently, Iron Man was standing underneath a tree in stealth mode while Tony lay on the ground with his arm around Pepper who had her head on his chest, just missing the arc reactor. Her one of a kind blue eyes couldn't be seen because well, they were shut. She was asleep. Tony looked down at her and smiled then kissed the top of her head for what seemed like 5 minutes. He had to keep her safe, she was the one thing that he can't live without. After a while, he could feel Pepper figeting and groaning, starting to wake up and he grinned at how cute she was. Her eyes started to flutter open revealing her lively blue eyes meeting with his chocolately brown. Suddenly, she brought her eyebrows together and made a frown.<br>"What time is it?" She said quietly. Tony shrugged and then he came up with an idea. His eyes darted to where he left the invisible armor and Pepper's eyes followed his.  
>"JARVIS, time" He commanded. Almost instantly, the red and gold could be seen again and the eyes lit up.<br>"9:24, Sir" Tony nodded

"Sleep mode" And with that, the armor vanished again as Tony let his head rest against Pepper's.  
>"I think it's sleep mode for me too" He mumbled and closed his eyes but was disturbed when Pepper pressed her lips against his. This time,<br>she caught him off guard and he fell back taking her with him. He held her close while they rolled down the hill. Pepper screamed when they first fell but he could just hear little whimpers from her now and then as he laughed hysterically. When they got to the bottom, Pepper was laying on top of Tony, her nose touching his with her eyes wide and her cheeks turning a bright red color. Instead of saying anything, their lips collided forming a very passionate kiss which would've lasted longer if they weren't interuppted by Iron Man's hand attaching itself to Tony. Pepper screamed and jumped off Tony while he got to his feet and saw bits and pieces of the armor flying straight for him.  
>"What the fuck, JARVIS?" Once fully dressed, the mask came flying over and Tony caught it then placed it where it belonged. The HUD lit up and JARVIS started talking<p>

"Sir, I have some good news and some bad news" The AI announced.  
>"Good News, quickly"<br>"It seems the armor can attach itself to you without the backpack, Sir" Tony rolled his eyes

"Noted and the bad news?"

"Tony?" Pepper was calling out for him but he needed to hear this

"It seems there is someone with a high source of light energy heading your way"  
>"Tony!" This time, Pepper shouted his name and he spun around only to see a bright light and then he was tackled to the ground. When he opened his eyes, the armor was still ajusting to the light infront of him.<br>"Iron Man" A man laughed and leaned closer, not helping with Tony's vision.  
>"I'm the living laser, you're worst-" Tony caught the enemy off guard by lifting his right hand up and firing the repulsor which sent the man flying at a fast speed backwards. At once, Iron Man set off towards the new threat and found him sprawled out on the ground, his eyes closed and the light had gone. 'Something tells me this isn't over' Tony mumbled to himself.<br>"Tony!"Rhodes called out through the earpice as Iron Man turned with his fists clenched but then relaxed when he saw War Machine hovering beside him, looking at the man.  
>"He said his name was 'The Living Laser'" Tony informed Rhodey.<br>"Ironic" Rhodes chuckled a bit as War Machine faced Iron Man.

"He's barely living and he's not that bright" Iron Man nodded and wondered where Pepper rushed off to.  
>"Where's Pep?" He asked looking around the green field. Iron Man landed and War Machine followed with their back to the Living Laser.<br>"She'd called me and I thought you knew where she was" Rhodes turned to face Tony. What they didn't know was that the enemy was re-gaining power, climbing to his feet.  
>"No, I was busy being tackled to the ground so she must've told you where she was heading" Tony started to sound a little annoyed and took a threatening step closer.<br>"Its funny that because she didn't tell me" War Machine also took a step towards Iron Man. They didn't hear the chuckling and didn't see the Living Laser standing with both his hands lighting up with light energy, ready to fire at them. Just when he was fully charged and ready to blast the two boys off their feet, the exact opposite happened as he let out a scream as he fell backwards. Iron Man and War Machine turned to see Iron Man Mark 1.0 with his hand up, the blue light at its full.  
>"JARVIS?" If it was JARVIS, the AI was about to get ten upgrades for his reward.<br>"You girls really need to pay attention to your enemys or you'll both end up dead or I'll have to come and rescue your sorry ass' every two seconds" All three masks flipped open starting from Pepper to Tony to Rhodey, revealing Pep frowning with frustration and the two shocked boys with their mouths open, jaw dropped.  
>"Pepper?! What are you doing?! You could of gotten hurt!" Awkardwardly, Iron Man moved his finger to press the arc reactor only to have it pushed away by Pepper. She backed away and stared down at the ground then, after what seemed forever, her eyes met Tony's.<br>"I've told you, Tony. I'm not some dansel in distress, you see how i fight" She smiled softly at him. "I can do this" He looked back at Rhodey for advice and it seemed the only advice he got was a smile. Tony knew he wouldn't be going anywhere without giving her an answer. When he made up his mind, he walked towards her and she didn't object when he pulled her in for a kiss. Once it became even more mushy than it already was, Rhodes spoke up.  
>"Can we keep it PG please?" Pepper pulled away and looked Tony in the eyes.<br>"Your armor is purple and white and her name is Rescue seeing as you rescue a lot" Her jaw dropped and she hit Tony's arc reactor then her suit's reactor. Pepper threw herself at Tony when he was out of the armor and hugged him for a very long time then pulled away, drilling her eyes into his. When he looked into her eyes it was like watching the night sky or a beautiful sunrise and he never wanted to look away. They both heard War Machine's thrusters activate and Tony saw him fly away. Pepper runned her fingers through Tony's hair as he closed his eyes, enjoying her touch.  
>"I was always ay risk, Tony. This is giving me more protection" His eyes opened and he rested his forehead against hers.<br>"Yeah" Pepper noticed the short answer and figured he was tired

"Tired?" Tony shook his head

"JARVIS, is he?" Pepper called out to both the Iron Man armors "It appears in the last three days, Mr Stark has recieved five hours sleep. So, to answer your question Miss Potts, yes, Mr Stark is indeed very tired" Pepper raised an eyebrow at Tony who just shrugged. Unexpectedly she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards his armor while she went to Iron Man Mark 1.0. She stepped in as Tony did and it closed over her, the same for Tony. They were 100 feet off the ground when Pepper decided she needed to talk to Tony.  
>"Tony?" She looked over at Iron Man who was staying in the same position and same speed with his head facing forward.<br>"Tony?" Pepper called out again.  
>"Miss Potts, auto pilot has took over the armor. Mr Stark is asleep" Pepper chuckled and grinned then picked up the speed, checking for any flying hazards that could crash into Iron Man.<p>

She watched him sleep for a while and thought about life from now on seeing as she had her own armor 'Rescue' All different kinds of questions entered her head such as 'How would Tony react?' 'How would the public react?' 'Could she keep the secret from everyone including Kiera and her family?' 'How many times will she be hurt?' In the end, Pepper pulled at her hair and stood up walking over to the hologram floating above the desk. Reaching forward to press the 'ARMOR OPTION' button, her heart started to race. This would be the first time she was going to see it which made her grin with excitement. Her finger brushed over the OPTION button and immediantely another 6 options appeared, a choice of:

IRON MAN MARK 1.0.  
>IRON MAN MARK 2.0.<br>IRON MAN MARK 3.0.-IN PROGRESS-  
>WAR MACHINE MARK 1.0.<br>WAR MACHINE MARK 2.0.-IN PROGRESS-  
>RESCUE MARK 1.0.<p>

When her eyes settled on the sixth option, she smirked and placed two fingers on the hologram. A series of noises happened next which told Pepper the armors in their cases above were moving around. Her legs carried her to the middle of the room and she spun around, giggling at all the suits moving around so hers could be lowered. Instantly, the expression on her face changed when her blue eyes spotted her armor being lowered so it could open and allow the owner to take control. Gently, her hand covered the red button on the side and she pushed down resulting in the case doors opening slowly. The whole armor was the exact same shape as Iron Man except narrower hips and shoulders and the color was completely different. Purple and white covered the metal and Pepper brought her eyes up so she could meet Rescue's own. There were no lights coming from the eyes and that's when she noticed the arc reactor. It was a diamond shape instead of a circle and there was no sign that it had been activated recently. Pepper was chewing her bottom lip now which showed that she was nervous as she reached to press the arc reactor and when she did, it split open, ready for her to claim the armor. With caution, Pepper stepped inside and not a second after, it closed up behind her as the HUD lit up, showing a diagram of the armor and all the safety procations.

"Welcome to the 'RESCUE' armor Mark 1.0. Weapon systems at 100%. Flight Power at 100%. Arc Reactor stabability is very high." This is what JARVIS says when every armor is rebooted. A wide grin crawled its way onto Pepper's face and her blue eyes looked more lively than ever.  
>Pepper moved towards the middle of the room and moved her arms around, testing how fast she could move and she was pretty good. Tony must of heard the movement of Rescue and woke with a gasp with drops of sweat coming from his forehead and onto his cheeks.<p>

"PEPPER!" He screamed as he sat up looking ahead with wide eyes. Pepper opened the suit and rushed out towards Tony. He instantly let out a sigh of relief when he saw her jogging towards him. When she got close to him, he reached out, wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head just above her chest while she hugged his head.  
>"It's okay, Tony. It was only a nightmare, I'm here" This caused him to tighten his grip on her until she was struggling for breath but she didn't complain, she knew he needed her right now. From the heavy breathing, Pepper decided that he was sleeping but was found to be wrong when he looked up and met her eye. Then there was silence like they were talking to eachother through their eyes. Eventually, Pepper spoke up.<br>"Good sleep?" He frowned and bowed his head while shaking it from side to side. She suddenly remebered the nightmare

"Oh..." Tony noticed Pepper's sadness and his head shot up noticing the armor in the background.  
>"Oh hey, you like your armor?" His lips formed a warm smile and Pepper returned it.<br>"Why yes, I don't know how i could not like my armor" They both chuckled then, out of the blue, Pepper kissed his forehead gently then positioned herself so that her forehead was touching his.  
>"Thank you" She said with her eyes shut. Tony followed her lead and closed his own eyes.<br>"That's okay" He murmured. Shortly after, they were interuppted by a loud THUD from behind them. Both their heads automatically spun around to find Spiderman lying on the ground in an awkward position. Tony broke away from Pepper and ran over to Peter.  
>"Peter!" Tony called his name but got no response, he heard Pepper gasp and then JARVIS talk.<br>"Sir, Mr Parker is breathing steadily, it just seems that he has fainted from tiredness" JARVIS informed Tony.  
>"Then how the fuck did he end up down here?" This was the most confused Tony had ever gotten. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Pepper who was leaning against the desk with her head bowed.<p>

Spiderman was lying on Tony's table with his mask off revealing his attractive face. Pepper had bid Tony goodbye with a small hug and kiss which worried Tony because Pepper was never like this. 'Just a bad mood' He thought at the time when she was walking up the stairs to the exit. Finally, Peter awoke with wide eyes and instantly they started to analyise the room. Tony noticed this and walked towards Spiderman.  
>"How'd you end up here then? More importantly, how'd you know where this is?" Peter sat up with a groan and locked eye's with Tony's, brown meeting brown.<br>"Hi to you too" Peter said in an annoyed tone.  
>"MJ tracked Pepper's phone a couple of days ago and it was to this location. She told me it was an abandoned lab and that it was unusual. So I thought I'll check it out but on my way, i got in a fight with some evil guy in red and black armor-"<br>"Whiplash" Tony corrected Peter

"You know him?" This earned a chuckle from Tony.  
>"Not personally no. Let's just say he works for Obadiah-"<br>"-Stane and he wants your armor" Peter finished Tony's sentence for him. He nodded in response "Why did MJ track Pepper's cell?" Peter shrugged "She said she apparently got bored" With a laugh, Tony stood up and headed for the floating projector behind the table Peter lay on, his fingers pressing multiple buttons.  
>"Not buying it" Peter nodded with a smile then he stood up.<br>"Anyway, I haven't slept a lot for a while and i was about to enter this place carefully when I fainted out of tiredness and fell. From there,  
>I don't remember shit" Agian, Tony let out a laugh while facing the prjector. After a while, he moved away and headed for the middle of the room.<br>"What are you doing?" Peter asked with curiousity. The only response to this was loud noises coming from above them, it sounded like machines moving in a circle above their heads. Peter's question was answered when an iron case was lowered in the middle of the wall. Without hesitation, Tony walked towards the case and pressed the circle which was placed exactly in the centre of the case. The doors smoothly opened revealing Iron Man.  
>"JARVIS" Tony called out into the air as Peter looked at Tony like he was crazy.<br>"Sir, Mark 3.0. is online and ready" At this, the eyes and arc reactor of the armor lit up and left Peter very confused.  
>"JARVIS?" Peter asked Tony but JARVIS assumed he meant him<p>

"Yes, Mr Parker" Spiderman put his mask on and looked ready to defend himself.  
>"Okay, what's going on Tony? Who else is in here?" Peter with anger.<br>"Err, apart from you and me, no one-"  
>"Then who the hell was that? Iron Man?!" He screamed.<br>"Technically, I'm Iron Man and that voice was my AI JARVIS" At his words, Peter relaxed his muscles and straightened his back.  
>"Your...Your...Your-"<br>"AI yes"  
>"Oh..." Now he felt awakward. When Tony tranformed into Iron Man, Peter wondered what he was up to.<br>"Where are you going?" Tony huffed at Peter's question.  
>"Are all your words questions?" Peter bowed his head and tried to look occupied by staring at the ground then looking around the room.<br>"Here" Iron Man threw Spiderman a spare earpiece. Peter caught it perfectly and studied it wondering what Tony was expecting him to do.  
>"Put it on maybe?" Tony lifted off his helmet and turned to the side so that Peter could see the earpiece in Tony's ear. Spiderman pulled his mask off and pushed his earpiece into his right ear, then replaced his mask as Tony did the same.<br>"Do you need a lif-" Iron Man started as Spiderman joined him, standing side by side, both looking up ready to exit.  
>"-I got it" Peter said with confidence.<br>"Alright, follow me" Iron Man's boots came alive with blue lights leaving a circle of clear smoke at Spiderman's feet. As Iron Man flew inbetween wires and pipes, Spiderman used his webs to get accross them and up into the fresh air...

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